The Thirteenth
by Mike Stormm
Summary: An enigmatic being undoes 3rd Impact for Shinji but brings forth a terrible new evil as a result. Four years later, will Shinji be able to find the right path to save everybody? S&R. Ch23: Can Judy help Shinji find the answers he needs?
1. Prologue: Choices

**The Thirteenth**

**Legal Disclaimer:**

Insert the usual legal mumbo jumbo here. Neon Genesis Evangelion is the intellectual property of its owners and creators, etc and so forth. I do not own, nor claim to own, the characters and ideas brought forth in this story.

**Prologue: Choices**

Gone…everything was gone. All the people that he had, save for Asuka, were gone from his life and probably forever knowing his luck. Sitting upon a small chunk of concrete, the weary adolescent stared out at the glowing sea before him…wondering if what he had done was the right decision. He had left Asuka alone to talk a walk down the shoreline, hoping to air out his thoughts before going back to his friend. She still had not said much to him, save for a few words expressing what she was feeling at that moment – usually just complaining about being hungry.

"I've probably screwed myself for life," Shinji grumbled to himself as he rested his chin on his palms.

"Do you honestly believe that?" An unknown voice suddenly spoke up from right beside Shinji, startling the boy right off his seat. His eyes widened in disbelief as he saw what was suddenly standing next to the concrete block next to him. It wasn't human, that's for certain, as its body appeared to be nothing more than a dense, transparent, black, swirling mass in the shape of a humanoid figure. Two single points of glowing white light, which Shinji assumed were eyes, gazed down upon the bewildered child who wasn't sure if he had lost his sanity or had fallen asleep now.

"Who are you…more importantly, what are you?" Shinji answered, juggling between deciding whether what he saw was real or he was actually just asleep on the beach somewhere.

"Something a bit beyond your comprehension child," it answered. Its voice, neither distinctly male nor female, carried an oddly reassuring tone with it, bringing a slight calming effect to poor Shinji.

"I'm dead aren't I? Asuka murdered me in my sleep, didn't she?"

The being before him chuckled lightly before shaking its head. "No, you are very much alive. Though how long you'll last out in this barren land is another question altogether." Shinji remained silent at first, not quite sure what to make of what the being was telling him. It did have a point. He may have lived alone a great deal but he had little idea how to fend for himself to such an extreme degree. It had been almost a day since Shinji found himself on the beach with Asuka, they hadn't eaten anything since then.

"What do you want?"

"I bring a proposal to you child. You have proven to be a…champion to humanity of sorts. You have survived terrible odds and have prevailed…to a degree. Though, whether or not this is victory is yet another question that cannot be answered." Obviously, the being referred to the merging of souls in the golden sea that stretched out to the horizon. "Can you hear it, Shinji Ikari? Their voices…hundreds of millions of souls merged into one being. Try as you might, one can never truly take out the individuality of humanity. It will always exist. It's simply a matter of form."

"Um…what are you getting at?" Confusion didn't begin to describe what Shinji was feeling at the moment.

"What if I gave you the opportunity to undo all this?"

"Undo this?"

"Yes by changing the choices made."

"Changing choices?"

"Or we can just repeat everything I say and this conversation can take twice as long."

"Sorry."

"An outcome is guided by the choices of mortal men and women Mr. Ikari. For every decision there are a hundred outcomes, which lead to a hundred new decisions with their own one hundred outcomes. I am presenting you the option, Ikari, to have some of those choices changed as to create a new outcome to this…ordeal."

Shinji continued with his puzzled stare. Perhaps the hunger had gotten to him and he was now hallucinating. "What sort of changes are we talking about?"

"For starters this," it explained and pointed out to the sea again. "Human Instrumentality can be undone. Tokyo-3 and its inhabitants could walk the world again in their own flesh and blood and you, Ikari, will be among your peers again – Horaki, Aida, Suzuhara…Ayanami."

"You can bring Rei back?" Shinji jumped back to his feet at the mention of her name.

"I just said I can undo Instrumentality. She falls into that category."

"What about Misato? Can you bring her back too?"

"Katsuragi died by mortal hands. I can't guarantee that I can undo her death."

"Fine. Just…do what you can!"

"Settle down child, this isn't the wonder deal that it might seem like," the being explained, bringing about a slight sense of worry from Shinji. "Every decision brings about a good and a bad – that is the nature of the world. When good is done in the world, inevitably something bad happens elsewhere. It is a balance between good and evil that has existed since the beginning of time itself. The Heavens were created and so was hell. Man was created and so was temptation. Love was born and so was despair. Humanity gained freedom and so did it gain the evils of the world. You get where I'm going with this?"

Shinji nodded his head slowly, still not liking where this was going. "So what will happen if you do this?"

"Your fight will not be over. It will not be immediate but you and your friends will likely once again be plunged into an ordeal that will decide the progress of humanity. The exact outcome is unknown even to me – you could forge a new order in the world, wind up back here, or lose everything. If you believe in yourself and those around you…I'm certain that you will prevail."

All the confusion and worry had faded away from Shinji as he was faced with this monumental decision. What had sounded too good to be true had become a moral dilemma. Both decisions had an uncertain outcome…but he wanted to see her again.

"I want you to undo Instrumentality," Shinji finally answered after a long pause of deep thought. "Why are you doing this anyways?"

For once, the being didn't answer right away, apparently not having an answer already for this question. "I believe some poor choices were made that should not have been. There will be a time where humanity will become like what it is you see before you, but now is not that time. It was not a decision for humans to make just yet – you are not ready for such a state of existence. This…is not right."

"Are you…God or something?"

"No - God rarely interacts directly with humanity nor would he be limited by time like I am. I can only present this opportunity to you for a short time. Now please shut your eyes." Shinji silently obeyed. "When you open them again, you'll retain your knowledge of what happened here today but you are not to speak of this decision you've made to anybody. We will meet again in your new world but I will not be able to provide much more than encouraging words for you. Never lose faith in yourself Shinji and always remember that your friends will be there for you."

Everything fell silent for a brief time. A strange, almost pleasant breeze seemed to blow past Shinji, rustling his hair for a moment. He felt cold for a moment and then slightly disorientated. Numbness spread through his body that lasted no longer than the earlier breeze and at long last, Shinji felt himself in a different location and position. He could hear computerized beeps and indistinct chatter in the background. Had it actually been done? For some reason, Shinji felt exceptionally drowsy and his once active eyelids felt like they weighed a tonne. Eventually, he pried them open and found himself staring at the white acoustic-tiled ceiling of a hospital. What confused him the most was the odd pressure on his abdomen.

However, that confusion was only momentary as he saw the unconscious form of the redheaded teenager, Asuka, laying her head on his stomach as she slept peacefully.

"Asuka?" Shinji blurted in confusion.

Immediately, the girl began to stir in her sleep, slowly drifting back to the conscious world. Those cerulean eyes gazed at him in amazement for a second before she sprang back to an upright position in her chair. "Shinji! Thank god you're awake!"

"Awake?"

"You've been in a coma for nearly a month."


	2. Chapter 1: A Reawakening

**Chapter One: A Reawakening**

"A month?" Shinji shouted in disbelief. The thought of being in a coma was enough to make him question his sanity…again. Was everything before just a dream brought about from sitting in a hospital bed for a month? That was impossible, though, as he distinctly remembered the events leading up to his decision made with that mysterious being. "How could I have been out for a month? I mean…I don't remembering being knocked out or anything."

"Most people don't Shinji," Asuka reminded him. "You took your Eva out and battled against the mass-produced ones, remember?" Shinji shook his head, though to no surprise. Asuka dismissed it as retrograde amnesia, which was typical for people who have awoken from prolonged unconscious periods. "If you make me explain everything to you, I'm going to smack you back into that coma, okay? Go figure you forget the most important things."

Questions…there were always more questions and Shinji felt like he was drowning in them. There was no actual way to confirm if what he remembered was true, as he'd be the only one still retaining that knowledge. This certainly would fit the profile of the deal brokered between the mysterious being and himself. Just thinking about that reminded him of one big nagging question that should've been on his mind a lot sooner. "What happened to Misato?" The immediate change in Asuka's expression, now one of apprehension and worry. Shinji's heart slowly sank, remembering what the being had told him earlier.

"She's…alive, sorta," Asuka finally explained, returning Shinji to a limbo of emotions. "Her surgery was a close call and she was clinically dead on the table for several minutes. She's been unconscious ever since." There was a hint of sadness in her voice, but that was to be expected considering everything that had happened leading up to the final sortie for NERV. The news left Shinji at odds with himself. While Misato might not be dead, he wasn't sure if this was a better end result for her. A total of five minutes into this decision and Shinji was already beginning to wonder if this was the best choice. The people he knew were back but were the better off?

"Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine," Asuka answered quietly. Physically, her wounds had healed. Whether or not she'd ever really recover mentally was another question. Asuka had on-and-off bouts of insomnia for the past month and, though she wouldn't admit it, falling asleep on Shinji was probably the best three hours of rest she had gotten in over a week. "The doctors said you probably won't have anything lasting injuries, though they'll probably have to do a few CT scans of your head to make sure." At least that was a bit of reassurance for Shinji. Asuka slowly rose from her seat and started off for the door.

"Where are you going?"

"To the bathroom. Unlike you, I don't have a hard rubber tube shoved up my urethra. I'll be back in a couple of minutes." With that, Asuka exited into the hall, leaving Shinji alone with his thoughts. Shinji shifted up in his hospital bed, leaning back more comfortably now as he tried to collect his thoughts. He wondered what he was going to do now, aside from wait for Asuka to come back.

---------------------

"Hey lieutenant! Lieutenant! Yo, Akira wake up!" A light tap to the back of his helmet promptly snapped the solider back to the real world. "You kinda zoned out on us there lieutenant."

The young officer, clad in full tactical armour and totting a heavy assault rifle in his hand, shook his head a few times in order to get all his senses back under his control before turning to the similarly dressed soldier beside him. "Sorry…what were you saying?" As his mind began to focus once again, the smells and sights of his surroundings began to sink in once more – the smell of blood, gunpowder, and that horrid stench of burnt flesh from far down the blood-stained hall.

"I said what do you think of the Colonel's decision to scrap detonating the N2 mine?"

"Oh right. If you ask me the Colonel's letting his morals and idealisms get the better of his judgment. On the other hand, he might have a point – I wouldn't want to level an entire city just to get at a handful of people either." The conversation of the two soldiers was quickly interrupted when an explosion rang out through the hallway – more room clearing. The two soldiers were both members of the Japanese Strategic Self-Defense Force and their orders to sweep the entire Geofront and NERV complex had left both senior officers with a rather unpleasant taste in their mouths, especially for the lieutenant's. "Why the hell he did that is beyond me…I'm not going to ask questions though."

"Personally I'd rather not be here while missiles start raining down – smart missiles or not those things can still miss their target. Of course the Colonel is going to get chewed out for it. Who's willing to bet that Colonel Musashi put our CO up to minimizing structural damage?"

"Musashi's an ambitious man – he probably wants the place to himself when we're through with it. Of course, we're going to have to do a much more thorough sweep of the complex if we're going to find the rest of the command staff. Any word on the children's location?"

"The First is unaccounted for, the second has already engaged our forces on the surface in Unit-02, and the Third has been spotted with the Operations commander and we believe they'll be headed this way to activate Unit-01."

"All hell's going to break loose if we let that thing get to the surface. Alpha squad, form up!" The lieutenant shouted with a wave of his arm into the air. From the surrounding rooms several troops emerged to assemble in before the senior officer. "We've got one female offier and a child somewhere nearby – I want focused defenses on all entry points to the cages and radio Beta squad to secure any control rooms. The woman is armed and do not hesitate to use lethal force."

"Sir!" A new soldier came running up the corridor towards Alpha squad. "Theta squad has made contact with Major Katsuragi in sector 213!"

"You heard the man let's move out!" The lieutenant shouted as the whole squadron of a dozen soldiers began racing as fast as they could down the corridor. Thanks to a rather thorough job of wiping out the denizens of NERV, it was a clear charge from their current location to the access levels of the cages. Alas, the trigger-happy soldiers had missed all the action by the time they had arrived on the scene. Theta squad commanding officer, another lieutenant, met Alpha squad's leader immediately upon their arrival.

"Looks like you're late again Tempest," the Theta lieutenant jived.

"Where are they?"

"The Third Child managed to make it into the elevators and the Major has been shot."

"Well it's a good thing I'm late cause now you'll get all the blame for the incompetence. Now show me where." The other lieutenant muttered a few profanities under his breath at Alpha leader's remarks before motioning for another soldier to show the way. With the action all but over for these humble soldiers they took their time as they headed for the launch bay elevators. Collapsed on the ground in a small pool of her own blood was Major Katsuragi.

"You always knew how to put up a fight Major," the lieutenant remarked as he looked down at her body. Taking a closer, however, he knelt down beside her and palpated her neck gently. "She's still alive…pulse is weak though."

"Would you prefer if I sir?" The lieutenant's first sergeant asked as he drew his sidearm.

"No – get the medic. I want her stabilized."

"Um…sir, we have our orders to-"

"Yes I know our orders!" The lieutenant suddenly barked back at his subordinate, leaning in close so that the officer knew just how dead serious he was being. "But maybe you've forgotten that we also just screwed up our orders to make sure that the Third child didn't make it to Unit-01. Now maybe some other soldier will tell you that we have everything under control on the surface but I will tell you right now that I am more willing to put my money on him than our own troops! I've seen the reports…I've watched the file footage…that thing is more dangerous than anything in our arsenal. So unless you can think of a better way to persuade him to power down I'm all ears…otherwise Sergeant, you have orders. Are we clear on that?"

"Yes sir!"

"Good…now somebody get command on the horn, I want to start rounding up as many survivors as we can. We might need to actually their help if we can't stop Unit-01…"

---------------------

"So after the explosion inside NERV, the UN stepped in fully and ordered the JSSDF to pull their troops back and the remaining NERV personnel were arrested. When I woke up, I was in a room down the hall with wires and IV's all over me. I had to get a bunch of pins put into my forearm to get it fixed." Asuka explained, rolling up a sleeve and showing the small surgical scar on her forearm. "Once I was able to talk without the help of painkillers I was shuffled off to an interrogation cell where I was grilled for about five hours until they decided that I wasn't responsible for what happened." With that grim news, Shinji figured he had a similar fate waiting for him as well.

"I doubt I will be as fortunate," Shinji sighed lightly. Like Asuka, he engaged the JSSD forces, including a number of mass-produced Evas, though he didn't destroy nearly as many JSSDF vessels like she had. If the powers that be saw fit to acquit her of any wrongdoing, there might've been hope for him…but not in his mind. He had, after all, ruined everything that SEELE had been planning. "So what's going to happen to us now?"

"The man in charge of the UN forces seems to be a reasonable person – I'm sure you'll be just fine so long as you don't say something stupid like admit false guilt to something. Listen, Shinji…NERV has officially been shut down, which means you're probably going to be sent back home once you've been discharged from here."

"What about you?"

"I…managed to convince the UN guys to let me stay here until you've regained consciousness. After that, they're putting me on a plane back to Germany." It dawned on Shinji that this meant the two teenagers would be going their separate ways now. After all the time he had spent in Tokyo-3 with Asuka, Misato, and the others…he had forgotten than this was basically a temporary posting. He went to Tokyo-3 to do a job and, now that it's done, he's going to be sent back from whence he came. "Listen, the visiting hours here are really stringent so I'm going to have to go in a couple of minutes." Asuka reached into her pocket and pulled out a scrap of paper, which she handed to Shinji. "It's…um, my contact information for…when I leave. The UN guys want me out of their hair so badly that they'll probably have me on a plane before the days over."

"You mean…this is good-bye?"

"In a way…it is. I figured our parting would be a little less…hurried so we'll have to cut all the useful chitchat. Just promise you'll at least try to keep in touch when you get back home…otherwise I'm going to be really pissed at you and several thousand miles isn't going to spare you my wrath." Shinji could tell that this last moment together was proving to be difficult for Asuka. Even her attempt to sound mildly threatening seemed more like a light-hearted attempt to ease the tensions of this parting. They had grown rather close in their relatively short time together and while he wouldn't miss the constant berating and belittling, he would miss the companion of the red-haired hothead.

"I'll call if I ever need help with homework," Shinji said, unable to move to a more serious tone. If he treated this like he would any other good-bye between friends, with the expectations that it was only until the next day, then it wouldn't be so hard for him. "I guess…good-bye is all that's left."

"Yeah…good-bye," she answered reluctantly. With a weak smile, she headed out again, though she stopped just as she reached the doorway. "And thank you…for everything."

"Wait…" There was still one question lingering on Shinji's mind. He had to ask. "What happened to Rei?"

"Her? Um…I'm not sure. I was told she was found in the base shortly before you're recovery and she was discharged before I was. She went with some of the UN people for debriefing a few weeks ago and I haven't seen her since. If you ask me, she's probably long gone by now under the government's wing for some other pet project of theirs. She didn't even care enough to visit you more than once." Not another word was said as Asuka walked out of Shinji's life, perhaps forever. The few people that really mattered to him had just walked out of his life, though at least he had the knowledge that Rei was still alive and out there somewhere. Asuka probably had a point though…Rei was probably going to be taken away from him. This was not the deal that he had made. The spectral being told him he'd be back with his peers, not sent back on a train to his aunt and uncle. Doubt began to take root in his fragile mind…had everything been just a dream?

---------------------

Just as Asuka had predicted, only a few hours after Shinji had been discharged from the hospital and debriefed by a UN officer, he was put on a train back to his old home. So, just like how he had first came to Tokyo-3, Shinji was being sent home as the lone passenger on a lengthy train. A small bag with what few things he had left lay under his seat, while Shinji stared out the window the landscape that stretched out to the horizon before him.

He wondered what would happen to him now. Part of him didn't want to go back home. Actually…all of him didn't want to. He wanted to stay with Asuka, Rei, and the others. They were his friends…arguably the closest friends he had ever had. However, life was always full of departures and reunions and if he hadn't dreamt this 'deal' he made, then he was going to meet his friends some day in the future. If only he could figure out whether or not what he knew was truth.

Shinji could clearly recall the events of the 'first' reality where Misato died and humanity was dissolved into a single entity but when his mind began to drift, memories of the 'second' reality started surfacing. He could remember the feel of the adrenaline rushing through him as his Eva arrived on the surface and charged to save Eva-02 from the mass-produced Evangelions. He could distinctly recollect the sensations as his Eva was struck, bit, stabbed, slashed, and knocked about by his opponents. Most of the battle was a blur, which wasn't uncommon to the memories of every other sortie he participated in, and the next memory he could recall accurately was long after the battle.

His Eva was trudging through the underground corridors of NERV, its armour stained red with the blood of his enemies and a replica red lance being dragged across the floor. The only thought running through his head was to find the Central Dogma and put an end to this ordeal. He was barely able to think clearly and just recalling the incident felt more like watching somebody else than mentally reliving his own life. However, it wouldn't be the first time he lost control of himself or woke up with huge gaps in his memory. He didn't want to think about it at the moment…he didn't want to think about anything.

"You're probably a little perturbed at me right now," A familiar voice cut in almost on cue. Shinji had only begun doubting whether his memories or trust-worthy but those doubts were cast aside when he saw that shadowed ethereal being sitting in the seat right next to him.

"So I wasn't dreaming," Shinji muttered to himself as he looked away and out the window once again. "You said I'd be with my friends…but now we've been sent in opposite directions," Shinji answered. "I assume, though, you have an answer to this."

"Of course I do," Nanashi answered. "I said you would be returned to your world and be with your peers again. Your friends walk the earth again and there is a home for you to return to. I never specified once that it would be an immediate event. I cannot alter all aspects of reality and some consequences were inevitable. What you sought simply wasn't possible." Shinji wondered, for a brief moment, if trusting this being in the first place was as wise of a decision as he had originally thought. "Have faith in yourself Ikari. I didn't lie to you or stretch the truth."

"It's hard to have faith when I'm talking to something I'm not even certain is real. You haven't even given me a name."

"Names are just what other people call you. If you want something you can just call me 'Nanashi'…hell you can call me Tiggiwinkle if that gets you going." Go figure Shinji didn't get an actual name. It was somewhat fitting since 'Nanashi' literally meant 'without a name'. Shinji decided that wondering about identities wasn't going to get him anywhere.

"So you really changed everything?"

"As promised…but your memories should confirm that for you."

"Why'd you come here?"

"To make sure you didn't dismiss our deal, thinking that you've simply been on the receiving end of one too many blows to the head."

"Well I don't think I'm crazy so you can relax…anything else you want?"

"Nope. Though I have time to answer a question or two if you have them."

"And how many of them would you actually give me a straight answer?"

"Probably none of them – I'm sure the first question is going to be about what happened to Ayanami. I'm not at liberty to discuss because if you really want to know, you can ask her the next time you speak."

"Why not?"

"Because I can only tell you what you're supposed to already know, not things that would've been beyond your ability to discover – otherwise I'm interfering more than I can."

As always, Nanashi left Shinji with more questions than answers but he couldn't bring himself to press for answers any further. "So you're not going to interfere? I can live with that."

"I'm sorry I have to leave you on your own like this but there are those that would stop me if I made my presence known by interfering any more than talking to you and even then our conversations must be brief before I'm discovered. I wish I could explain it to you but you're better off if you don't know about my private issues."

"I guess I should be just be thankful I'm not going to stepping into an Eva any time soon."

"There's not much left of them. The UN has secured the remains of NERV and has yet to decide what to do with them. Once again, though, you should know what their decision is going to be."

"They're going to rebuild them, aren't they?"

"Call it insurance. A lot of research, time, and money went into those things; it'd be foolish for anybody to just toss them into the trash. They'll hope to find some sort of new application to use with their technology or maybe keep them in cold storage in the off-chance that something big and bad comes Earth's way again. You, having gotten the free preview, know that their greed will pay off for you and everyone else."

"Lucky us," Shinji sighed lightly. "Do you…think I've made the right choice?"

"Would I have come to you in the first place if I didn't think this was the right choice? Now unless I'm not omnipotent being that gets kicks out of playing god with mortal's lives, I wouldn't have approached without your best interests in mind…or at least humanity's best interests." Nanashi's remarks still didn't bring about much reassurance for Shinji. "Listen Ikari, you've made your decision and now you've got to live with it. Life is full of decisions and you're going to be put through a whole damn lot of them in the months and years to come. If you spend hours doubting every little decision you've made you'll start to forget that there is still a world around you and more choices to be made. Learn to accept the consequences of your choices because, right or wrong, they are yours and yours alone. The choice I left you with wasn't the end of the road either. I have given you a new path that you can walk along and that's it. You can stay on this path or you can completely ignore everything I had told you and go and do whatever the hell you want to. You have the gift of freedom Ikari, make good use of it Ikari. Just keeping make the choices you think are right and have faith in them. Those around will take care of the rest."

"Decision making isn't one of my strong suits," Shinji replied, almost half-heartedly. Most of his life the important decisions had been laid out for him and those that he thought was in his control really wasn't. At least now he has the knowledge that the choices he made would impact the world – rightly or wrongly. "I doubt you'll answer me but…will Misato be all right?"

There would be no answer to that question though, for when Shinji looked to the seat beside him the spectral being had left him just as quickly as he had arrived. He slowly shook his head in dismay, muttering his annoyances almost inaudibly. The sound of the train slowly drifted from his conscious perception as Shinji fell into a light slumber in which he would remain for the duration of the train ride.

"We have reached out final destination – all passengers are asked to exit the cart at the nearest exit. We hope your trip was a pleasant one." The automated, feminine message was what awoke Shinji, reminding him that he had places to go. Groggily, the young boy got up from his seat and staggered to the exit. It had been such a long time since he had been at home with his aunt and uncle…would they even care that he was back? He never gathered the impression that they cared about his presence from the start so a lack of awaiting adults on the train platform didn't strike him as unusual.

But something did strike the young teenage as out of place. In fact, it almost dropped him to the floor when he stepped out of the train cart. There, standing only a few feet from Shinji was the enigmatic Rei Ayanami. For a moment, Shinji thought he was simply dreaming and was still in his seat on the train…but this was very, very real.

"Rei!" Shinji managed to blurt out at long last. "What…what are you doing here?"

"They wouldn't let me live on my own anymore," Rei stoically answered, confirming Shinji's wonderment as to whether it really was her. "They decided that I should live with Commander Ikari's closest relatives." Shinji became at a loss for words, trying to figure out what to make of Rei's explanation. It was…almost a dream come true for him really. While it might've only seemed like a brief time since Shinji last spoke with her but for Rei it's been well over a month.

"S-so you're going to live with me?' Shinji stuttered in response. "Um…I-I'm not sure if my guardians would be willing to have another person there."

"Actually, I've been with them for almost three weeks," Rei explained. "Once the people at the UN had debriefed me, I was discharged. While they were trying to find a suitable home for me, I suggested your guardians. Then they sent me here. I tried to visit but they wouldn't let me near the hospital anymore."

In the months before, Shinji had always worried that he was beginning to drift away from Rei, especially since he had been modestly successful in getting close to her, relatively speaking. Finally, he managed a feint smile and the two headed out. "So you really asked for me specifically?"

"There was no way they'd let a civilian live alone." It wasn't really the answer that Shinji had been hoping for, though it was the one he sort of expected. It made more sense for Rei to have chosen Shinji out of necessity than anything else. Without Commander Ikari, Misato, or Kaji…there weren't any adults that Rei knew well enough to actually be able to live with comfortable. Sure she could've been put with anybody, save for Asuka, without any problem but the people at the UN had more than just convenience in mind. They needed Rei with somebody they could reach easily in case a need for the First Child arose. It made sense, naturally, to put her with the relatives of her former guardian.

"I suppose it'd be too much to hope for things to go back to how they used to be," Shinji said aloud, primarily to himself but still catching Rei's attention.

"Would you really want things to?" Rei rhetorically asked upon reaching the front steps of the train station.

"I suppose not. Though I was…sort of more talking about us than everything around us."

Rei, several steps further down than Shinji, halted and looked back up to him. Her expression didn't change, no surprise, but a slight redness rose to her cheeks for a moment. "You remember the aftermath of the first mission we undertook together?"

"After you protected me with your Eva…of course I still remember."

"I still remember what you told me." Leaving those words hanging cryptically for a moment, Rei began walking again with Shinji quickly catching up to her. "You told me that even though we might not have anything in my life, we should keep on living…cause one day we'd be glad that we survived."

"Wow, I have trouble remembering that far back," Shinji remarked. He was having a bit of trouble recollecting the events himself. He did, however, remember saying something along those lines to her. "So…what about what I said?"

For the second time, Rei stopped, though this time Shinji and Rei stood side-by-side rather than one ahead of the other. "I'm glad that I survived."

"Me too," Shinji answered softly with one of the few smiles he managed all day.

"Could I hold your hand again?"

"Hm? Oh…uh sure." Shinji was a little surprised by the request, though it wasn't the first time she had asked that…though it wasn't as sudden as this. The two would finish the remainder of the trip hand-in-hand. Things would never be like they used to between them…but it couldn't hurt to try.


	3. Chapter 2: The Warning

**Chapter Two: When Old is New**

Shinji could still remember the early days after he joined NERV; a small part of him longed to return back to the easy, non-threatening life that he had been taken away from. Now, though, that part of him wanted to be back with his old friends and at his old school with Misato and Asuka waking her up in the morning instead of the blare of a tiny, novelty penguin alarm clock. On the bright side, at least his aunt could cook a decent meal as opposed to his former guardian…though there'd never be a breakfast, good or bad, waiting for him when he awoke anymore. His aunt and uncle were always out of the house long before Shinji had to get up in order to prepare himself for school and today, with the exception of an extra member in the household, was no different than when he had left home so long ago.

His aunt and uncle paid so little attention to him that they didn't even need to make much effort when it came to readjusting to Shinji's presence. His room had been relatively untouched since his departure, with the only large difference now being the extra bed put in his room, where his new roommate, Rei, slept. Regrettably, there weren't any extra rooms in the already rather cramped home, which had to clear out an old storeroom when Shinji first arrived as a child. Shinji was more than prepared to find a couch to sleep on until a better solution could be found until he realized that there wasn't any solution. Unless Shinji was prepared to sleep on a couch indefinitely until more floor space was miraculously created or learn carpentry in order to create said floor space, he had to adapt to his new arrangements. The only thing Shinji had going for him was the knowledge that if he could survive living in close quarters with Asuka, then he shouldn't have much trouble with a passive girl like Rei.

Groggily, Shinji clicked the alarm off for his clock, in hopes of getting a bit more rest before he actually needed to get up. Shinji learned long ago setting his alarm to about fifteen minutes before he really needed to get up gave him enough time to lay in bed half-awake without risking being late for school. As he lay awake in his bed for a few minutes, Shinji's mind wandered to the inevitability of his first day back at his old school, which was only about an hour and a half away. Would the people that he once called peers still remember him? Would he still be able to do well considering how long he had been absent from schools as a result of the Angels? For the briefest of moments, he actually wondered if Rei was as nervous as he was…before dismissing that idea altogether. Rei, after all, didn't do 'nervous'…or much else for that matter.

When he finally rolled over, there was an unusual sight on the other side of the room – Rei's bed was empty. Rei wasn't the kind of person to get up so easily, especially without waking Shinji up at the same time. Shinji figured it was about time to join the waking world too, so the still half-awake child stumbled out of bed and onwards to the bathroom. Still in the habit of quick showers due to Asuka's habits of rushing him along, Shinji was at least able to enjoy his morning shower without the worry of being interrupted. For the second time that morning, Shinji pondered what awaited him at school that day. For the most part, there was only one person on his mind that he wondered about: an old friend of his from before he went to NERV. His name was Kyo Musashi…and while they might not have been the closest of friends, Kyo had served as a life preserver when Shinji went through some of his more turbulent times in life. Like Shinji, Kyo was a somewhat reclusive fellow who spent most of his time with his laptop computer or sitting in a corner with a comic book. Unlike Shinji, though, Kyo was a much more moderate young man – well-adjusted, patient, and moderately intelligent, but with a cynical tongue and sarcasm like you couldn't imagine. He was the sort of person one would turn to when they needed help with homework or life and he never turned you down. Almost the poster boy for the 'nice guy' club – an honour he despised more than enjoyed. According to cynical Kyo, 'nice guys' were people you got to know for what you can get from them, not because of any redeeming quality about them. Personally, Shinji just felt Kyo was far too cynical for his own good. They had maintained some contact when Shinji was in Tokyo-3, but not to a great extent.

Once Shinji had finished his shower it was back to his room to get into uniform. Thankfully the dress code at his old school was so general and vague there was no actual need for him to change his dress attire to accommodate for it. Even Rei, with her regular attire, would have little need to update her wardrobe. Speaking of Rei, there was still no sign of Rei on his way back to his bedroom. Perhaps if he had been paying more attention to the silhouette on his bedroom door rather than glancing around to see if he could see any sign of his roommate, he would've known that she was standing on the other side of the door he was about to open. Somehow, she didn't notice him either, or at least didn't care, for when the door slid open both parties took the first, hasty step forward and collided in the middle of the doorway.

Shinji, unfortunately, was the one to lose his balance after the impact; he stumbled backwards for a brief moment before toppling over completely. Somewhere out there in the universe, beyond the physical boundaries of human perception, karma was laughing his ass off at poor Shinji, for the impact was strong enough that it loosened the towel around his scrawny waste enough that gravity was strong enough to free it from his body. As a result, Shinji was on the ground on one side of the doorway, Rei standing on the other, and Shinji's towel laying smack dab between the two of them.

Rei stared at him for a brief moment before simply reaching down and handing him back his towel. Then, without even a word spoken to him, she stepped past him and left him to go get back to his routine. "Only fair I suppose," Shinji muttered under his breath as he hurried back into him.

---------------------

If the events back in his home had occurred when Shinji barely knew Rei, he would've spent most of their walk to the school apologizing for what had transpired but thankfully he knew enough about Rei to know that if she ever felt offended by something, she would let the other person know immediately. Rei was not somebody to bottle up annoyances and she typically expressed what was on her mind. In a way, Shinji admired that she was able to be so open about what she thought and felt, free of any fears or social inhibitions that Shinji typically felt.

The school that Shinji went to was far older and smaller than the one in Tokyo-3. Housing middle to high school students, it had a modest population of roughly nine hundred students and was situated in a quiet part of the residential area. From his home, it was a brief ten-minute walk and the weather made it a pleasant one. As they drew closer to the school, they could see other clusters of their fellow students on their way to school. Some of the faces he vaguely recognized and while he could put names to some of them, he had no pressing urge to rejoin his former peers. A high concrete fence surrounded the modest school with a pair of old-style cast-iron gates guarding the entranceway to the schoolyards. There was only one person he was interested in finding in these crowds and, if he knew Kyo, he knew exactly where to find him.

Despite having been at the home of Shinji's guardians for a couple of weeks, Rei had spent most of her time getting everything organized for her new life as a civilian and had yet to go to resume school. Unlike the NERV facilities, there wasn't any map publicly available so she was forced to tail Shinji until she knew her way around. Getting lost was not something Rei desired – knowing her surroundings was something that helped her keep a control on things. "This is the main entrance," Shinji explained as they walked through the large set of metal double doors that lead into a large foyer. "Sometimes it'll be referred to as the north entrance. There's also a side, or east, entrance, and a back, or south, entrance. There're also two other, smaller entrances but they're mostly used as exits. The administration office is through those doors and these two hallways lead to the middle-school areas. We'll usually go through the east entrance, which leads right into the high school section. The library is directly above the office, which you can access by the stairs next to the main entrance." Rei's eyes followed Shinji's directions every step of the way. "Our classroom is on the upper floor but first I need to stop by the library."

Rei had no objection and followed along as Shinji headed up the stairs. The library was, like every other part of the school, more down to earth than the exceptional high-tech one at Shinji's old school in Tokyo-3; shelves of books surrounded the central lounge area where a large number of chairs were set up. On the far wall was a row of public computers, all of which were occupied by various students. Scanning the library quickly, Shinji quickly found the spectacled, black-haired young man that he was looking for. He sat in one of the lounge chair, typing away at his laptop computer ad oblivious to the familiar face closing in on him.

"Knew I'd find you here Kyo," Shinji finally spoke up once he was only about foot behind him.

At first, the young lad was startled by the voice of his old friend but when his momentary skepticism faded, he greeted his friend with a bright smile. "Jesus Christ, now here's a face I never expected to see again," he remarked as he set his laptop down on the table next to him. "It's good to see you again Shinji." Kyo was slightly taller than Shinji but just as scrawny, with thin-framed glasses over his dark brown eyes and a smug smirk on his face as the two exchanged a friendly handshake.

"You too Kyo. I honestly didn't expect to be back here either so I'm equally surprised."

"If I had an opportunity to get the hell out of this school, I'd hold onto it like a life raft. What brings you back here anyways…come to think of it, you never really mentioned why you left in the first place." Kyo leaned slightly to the side with a deeply puzzled look on his face as he looked to Rei, who stood close by Shinji. "And who's this?" His tone portrayed a piqued interest, though primarily because he had so rarely seen Shinji accompanied by girls his age.

"Oh right. This is Rei Ayanami, she's a friend of mine from Tokyo-3. Rei, this is Kyo Musashi, an old friend of mine," Shinji promptly introduced the two, which Kyo greeted with a polite bow of his head.

"I am impressed Shinji. I thought I had met all of your friend," Kyo commented with extreme emphasis on the singular 'friend' part.

"Very funny…" Shinji remarked.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Ayanami," Kyo greeted verbally as he addressed Rei. "So which class are you two in?"

"Class 221," Rei answered.

"Same."

"Ah that's a shame," Kyo sighed with a slow shake of his head. "I'm 155, guess I won't be seeing you two during most of the day." Before another word could be spoken, one of the bells rang loudly through the intercom system. "First bell, always when things get interesting. Well, I will see you guys at lunch hour. I'll save you some seats at the island, okay?" Kyo didn't spend much time on long good-byes as he folded up his laptop and hurried on his way to class.

"The island?" Rei asked, a little puzzled.

"You'll understand when you see it."

The first half of the day went without a hitch for Shinji and Rei. Despite being new students, they didn't receive much attention in their class of twenty-two other students. Since Shinji was a returning student, most of the people recognized him and thus didn't pay much more attention to him, while Rei was rarely one to draw attention. Their teacher was far more interesting than their old teacher back in Tokyo-3, with a much larger range of lecture topics aside from the near-destruction of humanity almost 15 years back. Rei took her usual place near the back of the classroom next to the window, which she would gaze out on occasion, while Shinji sat a bit closer to the front. Despite not having been in school for a while due to his duties to NERV, the two students had no trouble fitting back into the life of regular students. Life went back to normal for Shinji, though he didn't quite have the apathy as he did back in the old days, while Rei considered it just another part of her 'duty' – her next mission. It would take time but Rei would eventually accept this civilian life as her new norm.

Before they knew it, lunchtime had arrived and the class emptied out into the cafeteria and schoolyard for a brief forty-five minutes of freedom with their friends. Inside the cafeteria, amidst a sea of cafeteria tables and students, Kyo was easy to spot as he sat at one of the only empty tables in the cafeteria, hence 'the island'. For the first time in many months, Kyo had some real company for lunch. Rei and Shinji sat across from Kyo, who had arrived only moments earlier, at the rectangular table.

"You're still smiling so either your teacher was amazing or there's something different about you. Since, Nanasawa teachers class 221 I know it's not the first one," Kyo greeted as his lips curled into that infamous smug smirk of his. "We've got a lot of catching up to do."

"Since when have you cared about what happened in my life?" Shinji remarked as he took a sip from his soda.

"Since when have you cared about me caring…or anything at all?"

Touché.

"It's a long story," Shinji sighed lightly.

"The NERV thing, right? You'll have to explain it to me."

"How'd you-"

"My father dealt a lot with NERV…and he really needed to figure out a better combination for the safe where he kept all his paperwork in. I'm assuming she's the same Ayanami mentioned in the files." Resourcefulness was one of Kyo's finer qualities…and deception being one of the lesser qualities. When he wanted to know something, he almost always found the answer save for heavily classified material.

"Well, it'll take more than the 45 minutes we have."

"Well how about we have a get-together after school?"

"Sounds fair, when?"

"Well I have an essay to finish tonight and judo tomorrow night. How's Friday?"

"Shouldn't be a problem."

"How about you Rei?"

"I can make it." It wasn't like Rei had anything else to do – no more late night synch tests or appointments with Dr. Akagi. There was no NERV anymore to occupy her time anymore. That, in the end, would be the biggest obstacle to overcome in her new civilian life.

"So…um, how are your parents?" Shinji asked, trying to do the 'catching up on old times' thing that Kyo was advocating.

"Separated, thankfully in a very peaceful manner. The Colonel was stationed in Tokyo-3 as part of the UN reconstruction team."

"You mean Colonel Daisuke Musashi is your father?" Rei stepped into the conversation now.

"I wasn't aware his reputation had spread beyond the walls of the UN community," Kyo remarked, confirming Rei's inquiry. His father was a prominent member of the UN, usually leading any military operations undertaken by them. A former officer in the Japanese military, Colonel Musashi moved into the international community shortly after the formation of NERV and was part of the military observers to NERV.

"He had a few questions for me after the debriefing," Rei explained. "We only spoke for a few minutes."

"The Colonel has always enjoyed a hands-on approach to his job, that's probably why he insisted on going to Tokyo-3 to continue his duty. The time-occupation of his job had always stressed their marriage and the move to Tokyo-3 was the final brick on an already sinking ship," Kyo's voice was hinted with the usual tones of cynicism and annoyance. Kyo didn't blame his father for agreeing to the separation; his father had spent so much time away from home it was merely putting a formality to an already done-deal.

"So you're with your mother now?" Shinji asked, trying to bring the conversation away from a subject that Kyo wasn't too fond of. It was a sort of common ground for them, though Kyo had a much better relationship with his father compared to Shinji's relationship with his late father.

"Yes and I assume you're back with the aunt and uncle?"

"Correct."

"And if this isn't too intrusive, what brings you to this ambitionless community?" Kyo asked, addressing Rei this time.

"I had no place to go, so I was sent here to live with Shinji and his guardians," Rei explained. Kyo was visibly surprised as he glanced between the two several times over.

"Shinji…you've got a whole, damn lot to explain to me on Friday," Kyo finally responded with a light chuckle at the end.

---------------------

The rest of the day went without incident, all the way into the evening with Shinji half-asleep at his desk over his homework. Rei was sitting quietly on her bed with one of her textbooks open on her lap, reading the recent chapters assigned as to stay atop of her work. Back when she was with NERV her homework regularly got neglected because of her duties and long nights in the testing facilities. Now though, she had more hours than she knew what to do with.

Shinji was desperately trying to keep himself awake over his trigonometry homework but the numbers and figures kept blurring the more he tried to focus on them. Part of him wished that Asuka were here to help him with this, as math, being a universal language, was a snap for her. However, she was so far away that Shinji didn't even know if she'd be of much help. Before he knew it, though, the world around had faded into darkness and his mind drifted into a pleasant slumber.

"Ikari…" a strange, echoing voice called out in the darkness of his mind.

"Wha…who's there?"

"My time here is limited so I will be brief," the voice continued, now having taken form before him. Despite the endless darkness around him, Shinji was standing before a being, not too unlike Nanashi, that glowed with a brilliant golden aura. Something that looked like a cape extended from its back in all directions, spreading the aura out and making it difficult to tell how large this being actually was. Its voice was far more echoing, commanding, and stern than Nanashi's but Shinji had a feeling there was some relation between the two for they were obviously not the same. "You have been fed the fruit of a poisoned tree Shinji Ikari. The benevolent being that came to you is not what he says he is nor are his intentions what he makes them out to be. I cannot undo this reality that he has created but I can stop him from undoing everything that you have suffered so hard to achieve. When the time comes, and you will know when it is, you must return to Tokyo-3 – there you can find the Thirteenth. You must not allow any of the Seven to reach him…or anyone else that seeks to exploit what he possesses. Remember what I have said because you cannot repeat this to anyone, especially to him. Have faith in your strength and keep your friends close. You must protect the Thirteenth…or everything that ever was and ever will be shall be undone!"

As quickly as the dream had come, Shinji was awake at his desk, slightly dazed and confused at what he had witnessed. _"What the hell was that?"_ Shinji thought, feeling his heart racing in his chest. _"What have I gotten myself into?"_


	4. Chapter 3: Long Distance

**Chapter Three: Long-Distance**

"There's not much to it Shinji. Since the two triangles are similar because of the identical angles, then you can use those angles and the known sides to calculate the unknown side. Once you know the unknown side then you can use that plus the known angles on the adjacent third triangle to find out the final unknown sides and angles. This isn't rocket science Shinji, it's basic trigonometry!"

"Sorry Asuka. I just…keep getting my formulae mixed up," Shinji said apologetically as he scribbled down his friend's instructions in his notebook while trying to keep the phone in place between his shoulder and ear. It had been a bit over a month since Shinji had returned home and he had been keeping in touch with Asuka over the phone and instant messaging for many weeks now. For the most part, their conversations had been brief except for the few times when he needed help with his math, much like tonight.

"You're lucky that you always have me a simply phone call away. I hope you appreciate the lengths I'm going to for you," Asuka scorned from thousands of miles away. The phone calls were always the most interesting of conversations, namely because it would always remind Shinji of the time they spent together in Tokyo-3. Parts of him did miss that fiery, ill-tempered, redhead.

"What exactly are you doing to make talking to me on the phone so tasking?"

"Cause I'm back in college," Asuka answered with her usual 'matter-of-factly' tone. "I'm working on getting my masters degree so I'm juggling lectures, my work on a thesis, and responsibilities as a teaching assistant. I have a hundred and twenty-two papers to grade - half of which are written by people that are bigger idiots than you. So yes, taking what little time I have available to tutor you through tenth grade mathematic is a much larger burden than what your primitive little brain could handle." Shinji sighed lightly as he realized that, once again, Asuka was right about things. During all their talks together, Asuka hadn't mentioned that she was heading back to school…but then again he had never really asked about it. They had spent most of their discussions on trivial little things such as what happened during Shinji's day.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry that I'm taking so much of your time up. I'll just hang up and leave you to your grading."

"I'm not done with you yet Shinji," Asuka quickly halted Shinji before he could hang. "You promised you'd keep in touch and I'm going to make sure you fulfill that promise. Besides…marking half-assed papers is about as aggravating as driving nails through my skull."

_"Can't even admit she wants to talk to me. Typical."_ Shinji mentally sighed as he rolled his eyes.

"No eye-rolling!"

"What? How'd you-"

"A-ha! So you did roll your eyes at me!"

It took all of Shinji's effort just to refrain from growling audibly into the phone after being played by Asuka like that. "So how's college?" Shinji wanted to push the conversation into a new, less aggravating topic. Much of their previous conversations had been focused on Shinji's day-to-day life so he figured it would be fair if they spoke about Asuka's life back home.

"Getting my masters is going to be a bit trickier than my undergraduate," Asuka explained, a slight hint of exhaustion in her voice.

"I'm sure you'll be able to get it."

"That's pointing out the obvious. I'm not going to stop until I get my masters; the concern is how long this is going to take. I've already talked with one guy who's been going at his masters for almost five years now."

"You could ten years…you'd still be ahead of most people who get their masters."

"Oh look who's being all mathematical now. Just you watch Shinji – I'm going to have my master's degree in four years or better. Not even god himself can stop me!"

"Heh, I wouldn't tempt fate there Asuka," Shinji chuckled lightly. He didn't dare tell Asuka that he had been warned by some mysterious higher being that they might be returning to Tokyo-3 and NERV some day in the likely near future…though it would be funny to have seen Asuka's reaction. "Having fun at least?'

"Oh…it's fun. Lots of fun." Asuka's delayed response told Shinji that she probably wasn't. She obviously wasn't going to tell him that she wasn't enjoying herself but she would never fix her situation if she remained silent as she did. Asuka probably had a bit of trouble fitting in with the college population being so much younger than the average student but surely a girl of her…charming personality would be able to find some students who'd enjoy her company. Sadly, there wasn't anything Shinji could do except be that voice on the other end of the telephone or the text on her computer screen, always reassuring her and providing a small gateway back into the world that she's really from.

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself," Shinji replied, knowing full well that it was a lie for both of them.

"Hey, maybe during the summer break I can fly over there and pay a visit…you know, for old time's sake."

"That sounds like fun. I could probably get Hikari and the others to come visit as well."

"Um…have you gotten any word about Misato yet?" Not the topic of conversation that Shinji wanted to brush with. Shinji was hoping Asuka wouldn't bring it up, though it made perfect that she would be concerned.

"All I could get the doctors to tell me was that she was stable but still unconscious," Shinji sighed lightly in response. It was hard to get any information on Misato because she was under the watchful eye of the UN, who likely wanted to 'talk' to her once she regained consciousness…if she ever did. Thankfully, school had made it a bit easier for Shinji to keep himself preoccupied rather than worrying himself to death over the welfare of his friend. "Last time I called them they told me to stop bugging them and that they'd let me know if there were any changes in Misato's condition."

"That's so typical of doctors. They probably already forgot who to call by now," Asuka groaned bitterly. "There has been something I've been meaning to ask you – you've been sounding distracted this whole conversation. Something bugging ya?" For a second, Shinji thought Asuka was acting as though she were concerned about him…then realized that she was probably just being nosy. Finding Shinji's problems would give her more ammunition to use against him later.

"Oh…it's nothing that you need to be concerned about."

"It's about the First Child, isn't it?"

"Yes…" Shinji reluctantly admitted.

"Oh ho ho…trouble in paradise, eh? I figured it would be sooner but I suppose you have a bit more tolerance than me." Shinji couldn't believe how…amused she sounded at the revelation. "So what happened? She's not as interesting now that she's not a pilot anymore?"

"It's not that. It's just…it's a long story."

"Eh, I've got a few hours I'm not particularly attached to."

"Well…"

---------------------

**Earlier that Day**

"Okay class I would like you to pay attention now cause I'm going to be explaining the next major assignment for the class. While I would just love to give you all another fascinating research paper or lab report, the powers that be have insisted that roughly half of my assignments be related to the arts." The teacher had always been a science person by trade so he had always been skimping on the arts whenever he was able to so he could better explain the intricate details of ecosystems or chemical reactions. Most people didn't like that about the teacher, including Shinji, but for more studious students, such as Rei, subjects like science were her strong suits. The teacher, relatively young in the profession, was still well liked overall for his upbeat attitude and his relatively easy or interesting assignments…and the magic eight ball that he kept on his desk and frequently consulted when asked questions. "After consulting the magic eight ball, I have decided that we will be doing dramatic arts…cause I know how you all love to act up."

The teacher reached into his desk and pulled out a pile of papers that elicited a quiet groan from the students. "I've already taken the liberty to pair every student up and assigned a short scene from a play of varying genres, styles, and time periods. Some of you have modern plays like 'Death of a Salesman' while some will have the fortune of a good, old fashioned Shakespearean play."

Shinji slid lower in his desk as he dreaded the possible fates awaited him. Plays were never a favourite of his…namely since it meant that he would be drawing most of the attention of the class to himself. The teacher began moving through the rows of students, handing out copies of scripts that he had made for each pair, gradually drawing closer and closer to Shinji. Every time he announced a partner, Shinji mentally winced in preparation for his name. There were a dozen students that Shinji had no particular interest in having to plan, rehearse, and perform some drama scene with and about another dozen that he didn't have opinion on.

"Shinji Ikari," the teacher spoke, drawing the student's attention to the adult standing next to his next. "You will be paired with Rei Ayanami – here's your script." What a stroke of luck was Shinji's first thought…until he started reading over the script.

"Uh sir..." Shinji peeped up, just barely catching the teacher's attention before he moved on to the next pair. "I'm not sure if this is a good scene for me to do."

"Nonsense Shinji," the teacher reassured him. "I hand-picked every scene for each pair so that it was a scene within the capabilities of the student. I know some students here are naturally better actors than others so I chose scenes that would challenge every student to the same degree."

"This…this scene requires us to kiss though."

"It does? That's odd, I don't recall selecting any scenes of that nature." The teacher sounded a little puzzled as he leaned over Shinji's desk to take a closer look at the script. He seemed to stew over it for a while before finally giving Shinji an answer. "Right, well as I recall it was very difficult to find a scene that your partner would perform well in," he explained in a slightly hushed tone so other students wouldn't hear. "Now there's not a whole lot of plays out there that has a character that Rei would be able to perform well in." They both briefly glanced at Rei as she was mentioned, who fortunately wasn't paying any attention to either of them. "You can imagine how hard it is to find a play with a cold, emotionless, and quiet character that would have enough lines for Rei to have a fair performance. You won't actually need to perform the kiss…there's a lot of different ways to get around it, though I would suggest talking with your partner first about this. Maybe she'd have some input. Besides, it's just a play. Don't take it so seriously." The teacher gave Shinji a reassuring pat on the back before continuing with his duties, leaving Shinji to deal with this new problem on his plate.

Thankfully, though, lunchtime rolled around and Shinji was able to talk with somebody he figured he could talk to about this new problem of his. While he enjoyed the opportunity to work with Rei, the idea of even having to fake a kiss as part of play made him feel…uneasy. Rei was never one to avoid something because she found it uncomfortable so there was a good chance that she might…actually go through with the play and all its details. Rei was, after all, dutiful almost down to a fault. Under normal circumstances, Shinji might've not been too bothered…but this was Rei – somebody he would be spending a lot of time with over many years and possibly, if things went well, grow closer to. To be honest, Shinji didn't know exactly why this script didn't sit well with him…he had to go confirm some of this worries with his friend.

Shinji met Kyo at the island like he did every lunctime. Rei was, thankfully, busy with other commitments with her teacher, giving Shinji an opportunity to talk with Kyo privately about the matter.

"I don't see what you're problem is." That was Kyo's first answer after Shinji explained the situation to him. "It's a reasonable scene, you play a good character, and half-way through the play you get to give her a smooch. Remind me which part of this is so horribly bad for you?"

"I just…I don't know if I want to be doing that sort of…stuff with Rei. At least not right now. She's only been living with me for a month now."

"Practically a lifetime," Kyo interrupted.

"You know, it's quite a coincidence that I wound up being partners with Rei."

"You live together, probably because of convenience."

"Doing a scene that suits both of our personalities well."

"You said so yourself the teacher hand-picked them."

"Involving the kind of actions that you have been advocating me to act on for the past month."

"Probably a limited selection of plays with emotionless, unexpressive girls. Plays tend to ask for the opposite."

"A scene from a play I saw you reading less than a week ago." Shinji's eyes narrowed slowly as those last words slipped from his lips.

"I hope you're not trying to imply something with that," Kyo chuckled before finishing his sandwich.

"You've always been a person who can get what he wants, no matter the cost."

"Are you implying that I hacked onto your teacher's computer, switched the pairings, and slipped a copy of a play just so I can get you to do something with some semblance of romance with a good-looking young girl that's obviously fond of you?"

"No. I'm outright saying that you hacked onto my teacher's computer, switched the pairings, and slipped a copy of a play just so I have to do something with some semblance of romance with a girl who's just my friend." A lot of emphasis was put on the last words, just in case Kyo was a little hard of hearing, though it was more selective deafness than anything else.

"I am hurt and disappointed Shinji. I'm trying to help you out here and all you keep doing is throw it back in my face."

"I don't need your help," Shinji sneered.

"That's your problem Shinji – you just don't realize how good you have things. From what you've told me, you're practically the only person she talks to on a regular basis. Anyone else would've already asked her out by this point and yet here you sit idling and…waiting for lord knows what."

"You're jealous, aren't you?"

"Of course I am!" Kyo snapped, slamming his fist into the desk, though thankfully not hard enough to get everyone's attention. "You spent years being nothing but an apathetic emo-kid and for some reason you've got the sole attention of one girl and, from what you've told me, the heavily-denied attention of another girl half-way across the world. Meanwhile, I try to be a nice guy to the girls in my life and all I get is ignored. What the hell is it that seems to make you so irresistible to them? If there was justice in this world I would meet at least one nice girl who thought of me as more than just the solution to a math question."

Shinji stared silently at his friend for a few moments, not quite sure what to make of that little rant of his. Kyo had always been one to keep his problems to himself so it was no surprise that, every so often, they all came bursting out in a rather dramatic fashion. Kyo simply sighed when he realized Shinji wasn't going to be saying anything in his defense any time soon. "Listen Shinji, if the scene is really that big of a deal, just talk to the teacher and I'm sure he'll find the old script he had picked out for Rei…though you might have a bit more trouble since the scene involved a much more hedonistic character. All I did was give you another choice – which I guarantee is more than most people are willing to do."

---------------------

"So which part is giving you trouble again? The 'I have to do a play where I kiss a girl' or the 'my friend actually has feelings' argument?" Asuka sarcastically replied once Shinji had gone over the details of the event. "For crying out loud even I'd kiss a girl if it's part of play."

"It's a bit more…emotionally complicated than that," Shinji tried to explain, though the few incoherent grumbles from the other end of the line gave Shinji the impression that she didn't believe him. "Rei and I have…gotten a lot closer in the past month and I'm just worried that this scene might put some tension into a relationship that probably wouldn't handle it well. The thing is…part of me is thinking that Rei has been keeping a minimum distance from me, like there's something about us getting really close that bothers her. I don't mind that she would rather stay close friends but…I'd rather she just talked to me about it than keep it to herself."

The line was quiet for a moment, though only for Asuka to reload her insult-cannon. "Shinji…you are thinking way too much into this and that is why you will probably never get a girl."

"I don't see you getting into any major relationships," Shinji grumbled, feeling insulted as usual.

"I choose to remain single for the time being. I'm waiting to find the right person…unlike you who seems to think that the world will do all the work for him," Asuka snapped back with her usual epithet. "If anything, she's being cautious just not to the same degree as you are. She's still living with you…she wouldn't want to risk ruining something and winding up with a stressful work environment. That, or she's just as dumb as you are. Now this phone call has cost me five times the amount I had budgeted for it so I'm going to hang up with this last message – do something you damn idiot. The world isn't going to wait for you forever and if you don't act when opportunity presents itself, you're going to be all by yourself with nothing but regrets to show for it." The line then went dead, leaving Shinji alone with his thoughts…as usual. Asuka was probably right, he was thinking way too much into this. Rei never struck her as the type to keep a lot of secrets from him…though on the other hand she was intelligent enough to think about her situation rationally and come to the conclusion that Asuka had presented.

Damn, he was thinking too much into it again.

"Shinji?"

"Gah!" Shinji yelped at the sound of Rei's voice from within the room, causing him to fall out of his chair. "Uh…how long have you been standing there?"

"I just came in," Rei answered. From his view on the floor, Shinji could see that Rei was holding a copy of the script they needed for their scene. "I wanted to talk to you about our project."

"Oh right, the project," Shinji said, acting as if it hadn't been the focus of his thoughts all day, as he got back into his chair. "Have you read over it yet?"

Rei nodded in response as she pulled up a chair and sat across from Shinji. "I should be able to fulfill the role as required," she explained as she lightly flipped through the pages. "What do you…think about the sequence on page three?"

"Page three? Oh…the…kissing part," Shinji groaned lightly as he reached back to his desk and grabbed his copy of the play. "The teacher said we wouldn't need to act that part out if we didn't feel comfortable with it."

"Do you feel uncomfortable with it?"

"Um…I…I don't know," Shinji answered honestly after a moment of stammering. "It's up to you really cause your character is the one that initiates the action." Shinji tried to keep it as non-descriptive as possible, which would hopeful ease his own discomforts about the particular sequence.

"We…don't need to act it out," Rei answered after a careful moment of thought. It did bring a slight sense of relief to Shinji, though he knew he wouldn't hear the end of it from Asuka and Kyo. Rei didn't want to put Shinji into such an uncomfortable position nor was she certain if she was willing to go through with it either. She had lied about one thing though. She had been outside his room for almost half of the phone conversation…


	5. Chapter 4: Big Decisions

**Chapter Four: Big Decisions**

**2019 AD**

"Do not return to Tokyo-3 Shinji Ikari – only death and suffering await you in that forsaken land…"

Shinji's eyes shot open, finding himself lying awake in his bed thankfully. It was yet another one of his bad dreams involving messages about this supposed 'fate' awaiting him at Tokyo-3. When they first started, it was mostly just the occasional dream of Nanashi where he would tell Shinji that he was free to make whatever decision he wanted dealing with Tokyo-3…but mostly to do what he felt was right, which was Nanashi's way of hinting to Shinji that he should go to Tokyo-3. Then there was the gold one who warned Shinji not to listen to Nanashi at face value but to still go to Tokyo-3 to protect somebody simply referred to as the Thirteenth. About a year ago, a red one appeared in his dreams with a new message; this one heeding Shinji to avoid Tokyo-3 at all cost.

"This is getting annoying," Shinji grumbled as he reached for his alarm clock to check the time. Shinji wondered how much longer he'd have to deal with these dreams, which gave him friendly reminders at least once a fortnight. Shinji had been enduring those dreams for almost four years now and he was beginning to wonder if anything would ever happen in Tokyo-3 to bring him back to his old home away from home. The older and significantly taller Shinji stumbled out of his bed to prepare for yet another day of high school, which was drawing to a finale for the teenager. Only about a month, several final exams, and a senior prom separated Shinji from his high school graduation, which was an event that brought out mixed feelings in him. A new future awaited Shinji in college but he still wasn't certain what he was going to do with his life after high school. Several visits with the guidance counselors had left Shinji with far more options than he knew what to do with. It made him envious of his friends, Rei and Kyo, who were already picking out their majors and narrowing their choice of colleges and universities. Rei wanted to go into meta-biology while Kyo was gunning for biological engineering.

"Shinji, mind if I use the shower first?" Rei asked, poking her head through the partially opened doorway. There were days that Shinji had trouble believing that the young woman that stood before him was the same person as the 14-year-old girl he walked hand-in-hand from the train station when he first arrived home. Once almost equal in height, a still lanky Shinji was now almost half a foot taller than the lean and finely-figured Rei. They had grown to be the closest of friends, though it had felt that their relationship had hit a brick wall almost two years ago, and while everybody suspected that the two were more than friends, they had managed to remain strictly as such. Not surprisingly, neither of them had changed that much physically, simply aged and matured…though Shinji hit his growth spurt at sixteen.

"Go right ahead, I'm just going to get breakfast," Shinji replied as he grabbed a t-shirt that hung off the back of his chair. Their life at school had changed a great deal either. Kyo managed to get a casual friendship with Rei going, though even after three years it was reminiscent of Shinji's relation with Rei when they first met – awkward and one-sided. Kyo, meanwhile, had managed to finally get on the dating scene, despite his firm theory that nice guys really do finish last. He was single at the moment but at least Kyo couldn't complain about never getting any positive attention anymore.

Shinji's conversations with Asuka gradually became less and less frequent as time passed on. Asuka continually insisted that she would try harder when she had more time on her hands but time was something that seemed to grow less and less the further she went along in her university career. Shinji hadn't spoken with her in almost a month and did miss the sound of her voice.

By the time Rei returned from the showers, Shinji was already halfway through his breakfast. He munched on the last few inches of his buttered toast, reading a newsletter from his school that he had left on the table the night before. As Rei fixed some toast of her own, Shinji scanned over the upcoming events going on at the school. In reality, Shinji already knew what he wanted to 'read' and was merely using the newsletter as a front to bring up an issue that he still had trouble bringing up on his own.

"They're starting to take in nominations for the valedictorian," Shinji commented as he flipped over the newsletter. "Who do you think should get the honour?"

"Kyo is quite smart – he'd make a good choice," Rei replied, just going along with the conversation.

"Yeah but selecting the valedictorian by vote is turning it more into a popularity contest. Smart or not, there's a lot of other smart people who have plenty of loyal friends. Kyo was never a people person," Shinji added reluctantly. This was primarily idle chitchat that Shinji was using just to get a conversation rolling between them. Kyo, while being one of the best academics in their graduation class, it was unlikely that Kyo would gather enough votes by the student body and council to earn that honour. Besides, Kyo would probably waste his speech anyways – an advisor he was but a motivator he was not. "Prom tickets are going on sale too."

"Parties aren't my thing," Rei immediately answered. Well that plan didn't work quite as well as Shinji had hoped.

"You've said that before," Shinji said, trying to make it seem that her answer didn't bother him at all. To be honest, he did want to ask Rei out to it but he didn't want to put a bad finish to his high school career by putting such a strain on their relationship. 'Why ruin a good thing?' he would reason with himself. "I'm more worried about what Kyo might try."

"You think he'd try something like he did with that drama play we did?"

"He told you that?"

"About a week after we did it," Rei explained.

"How'd you take it?" Shinji was a bit curious since he had always been under the impression that Rei had been kept in the dark.

"Kyo did what he thought would be good for you," Rei replied. The conversation didn't go much further as Rei's toast finished cooking and she continued with fixing her breakfast. After a somewhat lack-luster conversation, Shinji decided to drop the issue for the time being. He knew Kyo wouldn't try anything with Shinji…he was too stubborn to be convinced otherwise by Kyo - Rei on the other hand. "I don't hold it against him. Besides, I got an A- on the scene."

"One of the few A's I ever got in anything drama related," Shinji chuckled lightly. "Remember when Kyo invited us both to that restaurant then ditched us at the last second."

"It was a good restaurant. We should go back one day," Rei answered with a slow nod.

"Then there was the similar incident at the movie theatres…and the festivals."

"And the flowers."

"There were flowers?"

"On my birthdays," Rei answered. Since they didn't really know when Rei's birthday was, when Rei finally applied for a driver's license she picked an arbitrary date in March. "There'd be a single rose in my locker; the note would say it was from you but you wouldn't be able to get into my locker."

"Why didn't you ever mention that?"

"I knew Kyo was behind it. I figured he'd stop after eventually."

"Practically made it his mission to get us together…"

"He does what he thinks is right."

---------------------

"Kyo, may I have a word with you?"

It was lunchtime at the high school. Shinji was absent from their usual lunchtime on this day, purposefully avoiding Kyo so that he would have the opportunity to speak privately with Rei. He knew Kyo well…he knew that Kyo would go after the more probable 'target' with this one-last opportunity to push these two young adults together. In the previous years, Shinji would've been a little annoyed with Kyo's meddling but as time passed on, Shinji understood why Kyo was doing what he did…and began to accept his help in minute amounts.

Kyo, halfway through a bag of chips, merely stared at Rei silently for a brief moment before slowly nodding his head. "Is this school related?"

"No."

His eyes widened momentarily but just as quickly returned to their normal expression. "You know in the three and a half years that I've known you, this is probably the first time you've started a conversation about something that's not related to school work."

"Your point?"

"Nothing, I just need to take a few more moments to savour this historical moment." Kyo just watched Rei for a few seconds, saying nothing as he did exactly as he said he would. Rei didn't mind the wait, though was confused as to why he was talking the time to do this. "Okay that's enough savouring – what is it that you wish to discuss?"

"I think Shinji wants to ask me to the senior prom."

"Well d'uh," Kyo sarcastically remarked before popping a chip into his mouth. "Anybody with two working brain cells could tell he's wanted to ask you out for the past seven months. I must admit I was surprised to see it take this long…it wasn't until sometime mid last year that he finally admitted it to me. Before that he kept saying things like 'I don't see her in that way at the moment', 'our relationship is complex', or 'I'm just not looking for that kind of a relationship right now'. Amazing what happens in a couple years."

"I told him I wasn't interested in things like parties or proms…"

"Neither am I," Kyo commented. "I like sticking to my own guns. The only times I go to parties are really important ones…or recently now when a girl is interested in going with me." Kyo was going to the prom with another good friend of his, which had been arranged a week ago. "Now what do you want?"

"I'm not sure what to do," Rei admitted. Rei was rarely one who didn't know what to do with a situation and even more rarely went to people for help. "I'm sure you've got something in store for Shinji and I already."

"Have I gotten that predictable?" Kyo chuckled a little embarrassed. "Well unlike the movies, it'd be hard to bring you two together without each other knowing what I'm planning. So I've just taken the liberty and got a pair of tickets for you two." Kyo reached into his coat pocket and showed Rei the pair of tickets he had for them.

"I suppose we don't have much choice but to use them," Rei said as she reached out for them.

"Now don't talk like that," Kyo suddenly spoke as he pulled the tickets out of her reach. "I never once forced you two to do anything any of those times I worked my schemes. You two chose to stay at the movie theatres and at the festivals and everywhere else I brought you two together. You simply chose to stay there as friends."

"Your point?"

"The problem with you two is that while the feelings of attraction are obviously there, neither of you seem to have any decisiveness within you. I take the courtesy of giving you options and all you two need to do is make a choice," Kyo explained with his usual knowledgeable tone. "Every decision you make is simply one choice of many possibilities. Take this decision to take the two tickets in my hand. You could, as you originally thought, take the tickets out of a sense of obligation because I've spent my money on it. You could just as easily decline and decide to ignore this opportunity, at which point I simply return the tickets and get my money back. You could decline to take the tickets but suggest I hand these over to Shinji; let him make the decision as to whether or not to ask you out. I wouldn't recommend that of course, since Shinji would've asked you already if he didn't think you'd turn him down because you don't like large gatherings. You could try dropping some subtle hints that you would be interesting in going with Shinji. There are a lot of options available here but the worst decision to make is none altogether. They say that a moment hesitated is a moment lost forever – pretty good advice really. You do nothing then neither of you go and I lose my money. We all lose."

Rei took a moment to digest Kyo's rather lengthy explanation; taking some more time to re-evaluate the options she had at her disposal. Kyo once again held out the tickets for her with a reassuring smile that whatever decision, no matter how much he liked or disliked it, this would be the last time he did this.

"So what's your choice going to be Rei?"

---------------------

Shinji sighed lightly in exhaustion as he finally arrived to the safety of his shared bedroom, where his roommate was nowhere to be seen. At the moment, Shinji just wanted a few minutes to himself to unwind and relax after a long day at the school after class. Sometimes it felt like the class rep was out to get him…or at least made it his business to assign after school cleaning to Shinji whenever he had the chance. Shinji didn't mind the extra work, he just wish he wasn't the only one who ever did it – though it did remind him of those many hours he spent cleaning hallways or classrooms with Toji. From the last email he got from his friends back in Tokyo-3, Toji had returned to attending class regularly, which brought much relief to the still guilt-ridden teenager.

Tossing his book bag onto his bed, the exhausted teenager stumbled over to his desk and collapsed into the chair with a sigh of relief. For a few minutes, Shinji just let time pass him by without moving a muscle. His mind lingered back to the conversation he had with Rei that morning. Should he try asking Rei out if only to get that lingering 'what if' feeling out of his mind? If it were any other girl, he probably would agree with that train of thought…but this was Rei; she wasn't like other girls. Whether or not that fact would work in Shinji's advantage was still unknown to him. In favour of the plan, Rei was likely not to hold it against Shinji - grudges would require a level of emotional expression that Rei seemed to lack. However, because of the fact that Rei was such an unusual girl, she might not have an inclination to take their relationship to that level despite how compatible they seem to be. Rei was, despite all her simplicities and straightforward nature, very hard to predict at times. Shinji just wished he had a clear sign.

"What the heck is this?" Shinji muttered when he noticed something taped onto the side of his computer monitor. It was an envelope with the words 'from Rei' printed on it. At first, he was inclined to ask Rei about it first but decided to just open it up and find out first. Inside was a pair of tickets…for the senior prom. Shinji was almost stunned to see the pair of tickets, apparently left for him to find by Rei. Was she simply too shy to talk to him about it directly after the conversation they had this morning or was this just her subtle way of avoiding a conversation.

Shinji was about to find his roommate before another possibility ran through his head – a much more probable possibility involving a particular teenaged friend that he had already suspected would try something along these lines earlier that morning. Thus, instead of finding Rei, Shinji picked up his phone and dialed the number for his friend.

"Hello, Kyo Musashi speaking," his friend's voice answered from the other end of the line after a few rings.

"Did you buy me tickets to the prom?" Shinji immediately asked, wasting no time in getting to the point.

"Ah, evening Shinji. It seems you have already deduced my participation in this little scheme so I guess I'll have to come clean. Yes I did buy those tickets for you to use." Kyo's straightforward answer wasn't too surprising to Shinji, as Kyo had a habit of revealing his involvement in 'ingenious' plans. "I take it you've got your hands on them now?"

"Yeah when you left them on my computer and tried to make me think Rei put them there."

"I never left them on your computer," Kyo promptly answered.

"You didn't?" Shinji replied in surprise. "But then who-"

"Who else? I gave them to Rei this afternoon at lunch. I'm guessing you haven't spoken to her, which means she's taken the more indirect route with the hopes that you'll be able to put two and two together. I know this is a crazy idea Shinji but how about you try taking this conversation to Rei instead?" Though Kyo appeared to not be involved with the placement of the tickets, it still seemed like Kyo knew more than he was letting on. Perhaps it was his idea to place the tickets like this for him to find, or he simply encouraged Rei to be more proactive. Either way, Shinji wasn't going to question this turn of events as he hung up the phone after a very quick good-bye.

When Shinji found his friend, she was in the living room, sitting with a textbook on the couch and reading it thoroughly. His arrival immediately caught Rei's attention as though she was expecting him to be coming by soon. "Can I help you?" she asked as Shinji stood in the doorway.

"Did you really want to go to the prom with me?" Even now, it still sounded odd when Shinji said those words.

"I'm willing to go."

"Why…didn't you just ask?"

"I had…trouble finding the right words," Rei admitted softly. Shinji was left a little stunned with this turn of events. He was half-expecting himself to wake up with his head upon his desk…but since there was a lack of any coloured apparition he could tell this wasn't likely a dream.

"Um…alright then. I guess we'll go. I should…probably go and see if my old suit still fits me," Shinji excused himself, feeling a little awkward and not wanting to pus his luck any further with the subject. He quickly retreated back to his room, leaving Rei to wonder what had prompted such behavior in Shinji. Before she could return to her book, the phone on the end table next to her rang loudly. Since it wasn't going to distract her any more than it already had, Rei answered the phone and was greeted by a familiar voice.

"Evening Rei," Kyo greeted from the other end of the line.

"May I help you?"

"Figured you'd have something to ask right about now. I assume Shinji had a little talk with you?"

"He did. What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything. _You_ left a pair of tickets to the prom on his desk in an envelope signed with your name."

"I thought I told you to give them to Shinji."

"You did tell me…but _you_ gave them to him. Be sure to have a good time and you don't need to thank me for anything." The line went dead immediately afterwards without a good-bye from either of them. She was a little surprised at Kyo's course of actions…but the end results couldn't be argued with.

---------------------

Several blocks away in another tiny suburban house, Kyo Musashi was relaxing triumphantly at his desk. His feet were kicked up onto the desk and both hands intertwined behind his reclined head. "Sometimes I'm so good I scare myself," Kyo chuckled lightly to himself. After imagining the look on Shinji's face when he made him believe that Rei gave Shinji the tickets managed to bring a bright grin to the young lads face, who had finally managed to succeed at bringing those two together after so many failed attempts. Kyo had done all that he could at this point – he had to sit back and hope that the two would act on their feelings and keep the ball rolling. It was entirely possible that this would be for naught and Shinji and Rei's relationship will not change in the least as a result…but he was confident in the human condition.

Finally letting his feet touch the ground again, Kyo turned about in his swivel chair to face the other occupant of his room. "They're heading to the prom together…I can't say that any of this was easy but I think things will work out from here on out."

The other person, who stood at the window across the room, was the same gold spectral being that Shinji saw numerous times in his dreams. The tone that Kyo spoke with hinted with a long-time familiarity, which made sense since he had been visited numerous times by this being. "You have done all that could Kyo Musashi," the being replied. "There is still more that needs to be done though."

"I hope this won't take two and a half years to accomplish…"

"I'm afraid it will take a great deal of time and effort on your part Musashi. Your friends are still in terrible danger and though you may not realize it, your help will be needed if they are to succeed against the evils that lie ahead for them. You must go to Tokyo-3 with Ikari and Ayanami…there I implore you to try and find the Thirteenth on your own accord. You cannot let Ikari be aware that you a part of this…you cannot let anyone know, for your safety and everyone else's."

"Find the Thirteenth…and how will I know this person when I see them?"

"I cannot say. You will know when the time is right."

"I suppose I don't have any other really good choices now do I?"

"You always have the choice Musashi."

"Choosing 'end of humanity' is not one of my favourites. Is that everything?"

"There is one more thing I must ask of you…"


	6. Chapter 5: Return of NERV

**Chapter Five: Return of NERV**

"Colonel, the Major is here to speak with you," the young clerical assistant informed the United Nations CO in his office. The aged, gray-haired officer gazed back at the assistant through the wire-framed glasses, which shielded his wrinkled eyes, before giving him a curt nod informing his consent. The colonel closed up some of the folders on his desk in preparation for his meeting with the fellow senior officer. His green, well-decorated uniform was finely kept with a gold chain stretching from his shoulder epaulets to his coat's collar. Normally he wore a more simplistic dark uniform but this was an important occasion.

A few minutes later, the office door opened and the senior officer stepped into the sparsely furnished office. What had been intended as a temporary office had been the workplace for the colonel for almost four years now. Even still, there was little more than original office furniture: only a handful of small trinkets, pictures, and computer accessories were added to the office over the years.

"It's an honor to finally speak with you at last Major Katsuragi," the Colonel greeted as he rose from his seat and exchanged a handshake with the young, recovering female officer. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I've been in a coma for a year and a half," she replied with a hint of sarcasm before taking her seat. Though years had passed in the real world, for Misato it had felt like only half that time had passed. Her uniform, very similar to the old uniform she wore when she worked at NERV, still held the feint scent of dry cleaning chemicals that had been used the day before. Even though it was the first time in months since Misato put on the uniform but the habit of getting her uniforms properly cleaned before meeting with a high-ranking officer remained.

"Twenty months, but who's counting?"

"It's a pleasure to meet you too Colonel Musashi. You've done an excellent job handling the reconstruction." Misato might not have shown it but this meeting was one that she had been looking forward to for many months. Since she left rehabilitation and came back to active duty, Misato had been working one of the most boring desk jobs known to man – restricted from performing any duties related to NERV until investigations in her conduct as Chief of Operations had finished. About a month ago those investigations were finally finished with Misato being absolved of any wrongdoings during the conflict between NERV and SEELE. However, with the notification of the reactivation of NERV under a new command, Misato was almost dead certain that she would be brought back to the job that she loved. Colonel Musashi was assigned as the Commander of the new, more militarized, NERV but the selection of his staff had yet to be finalized.

"I take it by the smile on your face and that excited bounce in your step when you came in that you have a general idea of what we're here to discuss," Musashi said in a light-hearted tone as the two officers relaxed. Even when dealing with business, the Colonel was always a half-relaxed sort of person – it was one of the things that led to the Colonel's popularity amongst the troops. "However, I'm afraid the news won't be quite what you expected."

That smile that Musashi described promptly disappeared from Misato's face, as she feared the worse. She didn't expect to be brought to this meeting only to be told that she's not going to be a part of NERV…but she was worried that the parameters of her position will be altered. "I suppose we should take things from the top then."

"An excellent idea," Musashi nodded. He slid a small file folder across the desk to Misato, motioning for her to look at the contents of the marked 'confidential' folder. "These photos were taken about a year ago during the reconstruction of the geofront. At first we thought it was just a prank pulled by a few bored construction workers but further review of security footage confirmed our fears."

"We're not out of the woods yet," Misato sighed lightly, looking at the pictures in question. It was a simple gray footage of a broken metal wall that had yet to be cleaned up with the words somehow carved in gigantic letters across it surface. It read in its plain, cryptic, yet foreboding message – beware the seven deadly sins. A second photo, dated at being only a half-minute before the previous photo, showed the same wall being completely untouched. In short, no man could've created a message of that size in such a short period of time. "So this is why the UN has called for a reactivation of NERV."

"It got them motivated to facilitate the process," the Colonel explained. "Right now we've got our people researching into this to try and figure out what we're going to be dealing with but right now we're not coming up with anything definitive. In order to cover all our bases, we've doubled our efforts in reconstructing NERV and we're almost ready to begin operations by the end of the month."

"And the pilots?"

"We're going to notify them of the restart of NERV but we won't bother recalling them back to Tokyo-3 until we've got the facilities to begin retraining them and begin synchronization tests. However, I have been recruiting staff for NERV…namely senior staff members. I've been busting my butt off in order to get as many surviving members of NERV that I could. Your experience and expertise in the Eva project is exactly what I need as part of my senior staff."

"So if I'm getting my job back, why did you tell me I'm not getting exactly what I was expecting?"

"Who said anything about giving you your job back?" It was exactly what Misato feared. "I'm not allowed to make your Chief of Operations again."

"Why not?"

"Take a guess…"

"Oh," Misato sighed lightly. Her actions had not earned her a great deal of popularity with a particular, secret organization within the UN. No doubt they were 'punishing' Misato for her interference. "So what am I going to be now?"

"Thankfully, they made me promise to not bring you back as Chief of Operations. They left plenty of positions for me to put you in and I've spoken with my other superiors and they allowed me to go forth with this." The Colonel reached into his desk and pulled out a small, blue velvet box, which immediately elicited a gasp of shock from Misato. He opened it up and slid it across for Misato to see the small, gold bar nestled within it. "I want you to be the Deputy Commander of the new NERV." Misato stared at the gold bar completely dumb-founded and with her mouth gaping open in shock.

"D-Deputy Commander? I'm being promoted?" Misato finally managed to ask after a long silence, to which the Colonel nodded his head.

"If you'd like it. I'm afraid this would be the only worthy position of an officer of your talents," Musashi explained. Misato rose from her seat, signifying her answer, shortly followed by Musashi. Walking up to Misato, Musashi took the gold bar from the box and ceremoniously pinned the bar to her collar, forming a triad of gold bars upon it. "Congratulations, Lieutenant Colonel Katsuragi."

"Thank you sir," she replied, saluting her new commanding officer. "If you don't mind me asking sir, who will be taking over my position?"

"I'm glad you asked," Musashi said as he motioned for her to follow him into the adjoining room. Several men and women, including a few familiar ones, who sat at the large U-shaped table, occupied the boardroom that they entered. By the familiar documents spread and half-empty coffee cups scattered across the table, Misato could tell that they had been discussing the new duties of NERV for a while now. "Everybody, I would like to introduce you to the Deputy Commander of NERV, Lieutenant Colonel Katsuragi." A round of hellos followed the introduction from the people at the table. "You'll likely be seeing a lot of these people in your new position. You would already know Makoto Hyuga, Maya Ibuki, and Shigeru Aoba." The three technicians that had served NERV and Misato loyally all had bright smiles when they saw their newly promoted superior officer. "To answer your previous question, I'd like to introduce you to Captain Akira Yamato, the new Chief of Operations."

Akira Yamato was a young, well-built officer wearing a dark blue jacket and the standard NERV tan trousers and boots. He wore a matching blue beret atop of his clean-shaven head and a thick, black goatee surrounded his lips. Upon his introduction, Akira rose from his seat and walked over to personally greet the woman who he had read much about after taking his new responsibilities as Chief of Operations. "It is an honour to meet you ma'am. Your reputation was quite impressive," Akira greeted with a clean-cut, polished tone. He appeared to be exceptionally well mannered and his finely pressed uniform and stance reflected his professionalism. It was like looking at the exact opposite of herself when she first took the position years ago.

"It's nice to meet you as well," Misato replied politely. "I'm counting on you to take good care of our pilots." Misato took a more second look at the captain, staying silent as though contemplating something. "Have we met before? I got the strangest feeling I've seen you somewhere."

"Well back in my humble days as a grunt my squad did a lot of work with NERV and UN operations in Tokyo-3. My squad was often deployed to secure scenes after sorties."

"Oh right…you were always the first on the scene. Tempest was what they called you right?"

"I am honoured you remember. That would be me. I know I have very large shoes to fill so any advice you can give me would be greatly appreciated."

"Well from all I learned: stay on your toes, trust your instincts, and always listen to your friends."

"I'll be sure to do so." Akira came off as a bit of a greenhorn when it came to being in such an important position but where he lacked in experience, he made up for in talent and ingenuity. While coming off as friendly, Akira was exceptionally professional when it came to his job and his life. Akira took a seat so that the Colonel could continue introducing the other people.

"The man in the white lab coat is taking over Dr. Akagi's position. This is Dr. Joseph Washington-"

"The same Dr. Washington that headed the design and construction of Eva Unit-04 in Nevada?"

"That is correct," Joseph said, confirming Misato's original belief, as he stood up. Still in his late thirties, Dr. Washington's appearance portrayed the hard-working, dedicated brilliant scientist that he was. His sandy blonde hair was cut very short so that nobody would ever notice that he barely does anything to keep it tidy, a thin carpet of stubble covered his lower face, suggesting that he hadn't shaved in several days, and a polite, but tired smile curled across his lips. Not being a military officer, the scientist simply removed a hand from his coat's pocket to offer as a handshake to the newly promoted Deputy Commander.

"I thought you died when Unit-04 exploded."

"I get that a lot," Joseph chuckled lightly. "While I was in charge of the project, I was called away by the UN the week of the trials. I returned to a several-mile-wide crater in the Nevada desert."

"Dr. Washington is an expert in many fields his work in micro-fusion generators," the Colonel continued, though Misato was well aware of the renowned scientist's work.

"He was also a serious contender for Akagi's position," Misato added.

"Whatever we're dealing with, you can count on me to unlock their secrets," Joseph reassured Misato before taking his seat again. Like Akagi, Washington was a brilliant scientist and he specialized in bio-mechanical systems, particle physics, and computer sciences. However, Akagi's edged out Washington for the posting at NERV and he was assigned to the NERV branch in Nevada where his specialty in portable energy systems landed him in charge of designing an S2 engine for the Evas.

"And lastly, heading a newly created position is Captain Ayane Yamashiro, M.D. As a top-class neurologist and diagnostician, she is responsible for the health of all the people in NERV, though primarily the pilots both during and after missions." Like most people selected by NERV, Yamashiro was young and brilliant in her respected field. After having worked at various postings across Japan, Ayane was finally recognized for her talents and assigned this prestigious posting at the new NERV headquarters. She was the only other person wearing a white lab coat in the room, which lay overtop of a simple military uniform akin to the ones worn by Ibuki and the other technicians. Her chestnut brown hair was tied back into a ponytail that stretched down her back, while her soft green eyes were hidden behind a pair of black-framed glasses.

"We could certainly use a person with such talents," Misato commented as she shook hands with the young doctor, who remained silent but smiled in a very friendly manner. Ayane was never a person to mince with words very much but her peaceful demeanor worked wonders with the wounded.

"If the Deputy Commander would care to join us, we were discussing the matter of the re-commissioning and repair of the Eva units," Captain Yamato invited, motioning for one of the empty chairs. Though it was rather sudden, Misato figured it'd be in her best interest in getting to know some of the new members of her staff before assuming more of the official duties as Deputy Commander.

"I would be delighted to," Misato nodded and took a seat next to the Chief of Operations.

"Now, as I was saying beforehand, I've been working with the engineering department and Lieutenant Ibuki on new improvements we can incorporate during the reconstruction processes…"

---------------------

What a night…

Shinji felt completely and thoroughly exhausted as the formally dressed teenager shut the front door of his home behind him. Loosening his necktie, Shinji sighed in relief after what could arguably be one of the most memorable nights of his life. It felt like yesterday that he was planning things with Kyo for the senior prom and just as quickly as it had descended upon him, it had finished. His date, the soft-spoken yet enchanting young Rei, kept her word and accompanied Shinji to the formal event. A simple but eloquent sky blue dress with thin shoulder straps matched well with Shinji's dark blue suit, which many described as making him look very mature.

At first, Shinji thought the night was going to be rather uneventful for him but some more encouragement from Kyo helped the two of them make something quite special out of that night. He could still remember how nervous he felt when they first set foot on the dance floor together, holding each other close as a slow song was played by the live band.

The night seemed to cap off what had been building up over the past three and a half years between them. Years ago, Shinji vividly recalled the time when he described his relationship with Rei as something that did not fit into the words such as 'like' and 'want to go out with' and while it felt more like Rei was a part of Shinji that had been taken away from him, every passing week seemed to make him yearn to make her a more bigger part in his life. It was still hard to put into words what he felt for Rei…and it still didn't really fall into words like 'I really like her' or 'I'd like to be her boyfriend' but a part of him knew that these feelings were always changing as the two of them grew up together.

"That was a lot more fun than I imagined it would've been," Shinji commented as he slid off his coat and slung it over his shoulder.

"I did too," Rei admitted. His biggest worry had always been whether or not Rei would actually enjoy her night. Despite saying otherwise, he knew that Rei still wasn't much for large social gatherings. The only advantage was that even being in the midst of dozens of other students, on that dance floor their world was reduced to just the two of them. "I'm…glad I went."

"We're going to have to really thank Kyo after this…and endure a few thousand 'I told you so'," Shinji chuckled lightly before excusing himself to return to his bedroom to get out of his suit. As nice as he felt he looked, Shinji felt too constrained in it and he was thankful once he was back into his trousers and a plain t-shirt. Rei joined him in their shared bedroom just as he was finishing fitting his shirt on.

"A part of me is really going to miss this place," Shinji commented, mostly sounding his thoughts aloud.

"Nobody is forcing you to leave," Rei commented as she opened her wardrobe.

"I know. I know…I suppose I just want to go back to Tokyo-3." Shinji had done an excellent job at keeping his true intentions for returning to Tokyo-3 a secret and when he thought about it today, it seemed like too much of a coincidence to be exactly that. Had Nanashi known ahead of time that Shinji wouldn't have any need to go to Tokyo-3 until after high school? Part of Shinji had wished he had known about this time delay beforehand, though that knowledge would've done him little good. After a year without hearing anything from Tokyo-3, he stopped keeping himself mentally prepared to leave his home to return to Tokyo-3 and focused on just enjoying being a regular teenager again. "Kyo was thinking of going to the University of Tokyo-3 as well."

"They do have an excellent engineering program," Rei added.

"He was actually suggesting that we all pool our money together to rent an apartment in Tokyo-3." The idea of living 24-hours a day with one of his oldest friends was appealing at first…but then the combination of Rei and Kyo being in the same building posed a slight problem. It was bad enough when Kyo pestered Shinji on the Rei-subject at school, surely living with him would result in three times as much. However, Shinji reminded himself that he needed to pay regular attention to his relationships or they'd wind up festering and dying off, much like the ones with the people he once knew in Tokyo-3. He hadn't spoken with Kensuke or Toji in years and Asuka hadn't called in almost a month now. Plus, after living with the Red Baroness, Shinji figured he'd be capable of withstanding Kyo's peculiarities. How bad could he be after all? He wasn't one to get rude and loud at a moment's notice, nor did he push Shinji around and belittle him at every little opportunity. Compared to Asuka, Kyo was a gift from a much more merciful god than the one that stuck him with Asuka.

"We would have to go to Tokyo-3 to look at apartments."

"We can do that over the summer break. I'd rather go into an apartment than gamble with a university-assigned roommate." Rei was certainly able to relate to that last part. While she personally wouldn't have any problem with it, there was a certain risk when taking in a complete stranger to live with. A bad roommate could easily ruin her first year experience. "We can just take a weekend in the summer, book a train ride to Tokyo-3, and spend the next few days looking at apartments."

"Talk with Kyo and arrange something then."

Shinji nodded in response as he flicked on the radio on his bedside table. Both teens stopped what they were doing when they heard the song playing over the radio waves…the very same song that was played when they shared their first dance that night. They exchanged glances for a moment, both of them trying to hide the feelings that the song brought back to them. A faint, red glow rose to each of their cheeks as Shinji stepped over to Rei with an offered hand outstretched to her. Without hesitation, Rei placed her hand into his and rested her other hand upon his shoulder. With the soothing, slow song sounding from the speakers of Shinji's small stereo, the pair waltzed about the tiny bedroom. For that brief three minutes and thirty-seven seconds, their world was reduced to that small, ten by twelve foot room…and nothing else mattered to either of them.

"Shinji…there's…been something I had been meaning to ask," Rei said softly as the song began to fade off.

"What is it?"

Rei had trouble putting what she wanted into words, even with her usual straightforward mannerisms, and just as she was about to say what she wanted the doorbell rang. "You…should probably answer that," Rei suggested, somewhat disappointing Shinji. Despite his annoyances with the interruption, Shinji went along with it and answered the door.

After months of sitting in his room and expecting every doorbell ring to be them, Shinji had given up on them coming for him any time soon. This was, without a doubt, the one night he wished he could've had to himself. All the wishful thinking in the world wasn't going to whisk away the two men who were dressed in black suits and had the characteristic earpiece that confirmed Shinji's fears. NERV had come back for him.

"Shinji Ikari?" one of the agents asked, to which Shinji nodded in response. "We've been sent by the UN. May we have a word with you?"

"Of course," Shinji said as he invited the two agents inside. After leading them to the living room, the three of them sat down around the coffee table to discuss the matter that Shinji already knew about in advance. "Um…this is about NERV isn't it?"

"Very perceptive Mr. Ikari."

"Why else would the UN be knocking on my door?" Shinji remarked.

"A situation has arisen in Tokyo-3. As a result, the UN has ordered the reformation of the NERV organization."

"And you want me back, don't you?"

"You've already been discharged Mr. Ikari. We're not forcing you to return right now…we are simply asking if you would volunteer to return to active duty when the time arises. The UN is willing to give some incentives for you, and Miss Ayanami, to return to Tokyo-3."

"Incentives?"

"Well if you were to, say, enroll at the University of Tokyo-3," the second agent began. "NERV would be willing to pay for your education and boarding costs." As Shinji 'faked' pondering the offer, as he was already planning to go to Tokyo-3 to begin with, Rei came by to investigate what the conversation was about. She had already overheard the last parts of the conversation so she was able to step into the conversation without feeling out of the loop.

"Who is in charge of NERV now?" Rei asked, since it couldn't be Commander Ikari anymore.

"Colonel Daisuke Musashi has been put in charge," the first agent answered. "And Lieutenant Colonel Misato Katsuragi has been made the Deputy Commander." It was the first real news of his former surrogate mother's condition he has heard in over a year. "You don't have to give an answer now…but call this number when you do." The second agent pulled out a small card from his inner coat pocket and handed it to Shinji.

Shinji glanced over to Rei briefly, who returned a look that silently told Shinji what her answer already was. There was no doubting that the dutiful Rei Ayanami would return to duty when called upon…and Shinji decided long ago that he would return to Tokyo-3 when the time came. "We'll go but on one condition."

"We can't make any promises right now but we can forward your request."

"You give Kyo Musashi the same incentives as well."

The two agents looked at each other for a moment. They both knew who Kyo Musashi, the Colonel's son, was. "I don't think that'd be a problem for the Colonel."

"Then just tell us when you need us back and we'll be there," Shinji said firmly.

Back into the breach once more…


	7. Chapter 6: If Three's a Crowd

**Chapter Six: If Three's a Crowd, What's Four?**

It almost like four years ago all over again…though for some reason Shinji felt a bit better about this trip on the train. Perhaps it was because his estranged father wasn't summoning him this time. Perhaps it was because there wasn't a strange, unknown world waiting for him when the train ground to a halt. He knew exactly what he was getting into this time. Well, that would be incorrect: Shinji knew that the Evas awaited him but he didn't know exactly what he was going to be going up against this time. Perhaps his uplifted spirits was rooted in the fact that he didn't have the entire train to himself for once. Sitting comfortably in nearby seats were two of his closest friends – Kyo and Rei. Kyo, not surprisingly, had his laptop computer opened on his lap and he was typing away at it to pass the time on this long journey to Tokyo-3. Rei stared out the window at the passing scenery, not having spoken a word the whole trip. In fact, none of the three friends, for some odd reason, had spoken during the entire trip. That was mostly due to the fact that the three friends had said most of what they wanted to say about their future in Tokyo-3 before the train departed the station. There was little for them to say until they arrived.

Shinji couldn't help but wonder what future awaited him in Tokyo-3. How would Misato react to his return? Surely she would be delighted to see him again but he did wonder why she never tried to contact him before. There was a lot to the aftermath of the last NERV operation, more so for the few surviving senior members of NERV. If she hadn't been swamped with inquires and paperwork when she went back in duty, Shinji would be quite surprised.

And what of Asuka? Shinji hadn't been able to contact her in quite some time. Whether it was because she was busy with her schoolwork or because she, too, was brought back by NERV would remain a mystery until he was able to ask somebody with the authority to answer such questions. He would like to have Asuka fighting alongside him again…but she had suffered terribly during her tour of duty as an Eva pilot. She might not want to return to duty for that very reason. When Shinji voiced that concern to Kyo, he seemed certain while reassuring Shinji that Asuka was unlikely to turn down this opportunity. Asuka had been the subject of their conversations numerous times before and Kyo held a strange fascination in this girl that Shinji spoke with such mixed feelings about. Before boarding the train, Kyo expressed a bit of excitement in the possibility of meeting the fiery Germanic pilot. In a strange way, Shinji was looking forward to this meeting as well. Given Kyo's perceptive, cynical, and 'fear absolutely nobody' attitude, the two would either get along very well…or be the absolute worst of enemies. Either way, it meant Shinji would have to deal with less of Asuka's ire. There's no way he could lose. If anybody could handle Asuka both verbally and mentally, it was Kyo Musashi.

Then there was the matter of Kensuke and Toji, who had almost dropped out of Shinji's world altogether in the recent years. Chances were, with the Eva project starting again he would see both of them again, primarily Kensuke though. Kyo would likely find them…very interesting people and by 'interesting' he meant 'annoying'. Seeing Toji again would be…complicated to say the least. It might have been four years but that day where he crippled his friend still echoed in his mind. Once again Kyo reassured Shinji that things were not as bad as he had believe, citing some articles about the advancement in prosthetics, which still didn't bring about a sense of reassurance in Shinji.

There was, of course, also the business of this 'Thirteenth' Shinji was told to find and protect by some unknown apparition. Shinji wasn't sure whether to trust the golden apparition. While the red one left a strange, foreboding chill in his mind, the golden one seemed to leave some sense of security. It was hard to describe. The crimson being that appeared before Shinji to warn him of dangers that waited in Tokyo-3 struck Shinji as a less-than-trustworthy being. Nanashi hadn't made an appearance in a long time, which left Shinji wondering whether he should continue trusting it or not. Nanashi was the only one that had really left Shinji with little idea of what to do in Tokyo-3, though he had a strange feeling that it would somehow involve this 'Thirteenth' mentioned by the golden apparition. Shinji had his concerns that he wouldn't be able to find this 'Thirteenth' that was mentioned to him…though knowing his luck he'll probably find him without even knowing it.

It was strange that while most people his age were worrying about the prospect of university, Shinji's worries were more focused on the people in his life. Four years ago, he never would've even given a second thought to the people around him. How things had changed for him in these few short years. Long ago he used to say things like 'I don't care if I die', now it was replaced with 'I like the way my life is going'. He had found things worth living for…more specifically, he found somebody worth living for.

At long last, the train came to a slow halt and the familiar train station was greeted Shinji when he gazed out the window. He would've kept staring out that window longer if it hadn't been for the nagging reminder from the automated speaker system for everybody to get off the train immediately, which prompted the other passengers to disembark.

"Man, you can hardly tell this place used to be ground zero," Kyo remarked as he stepped out of the train and looked upon the skyline of the mighty city for the first time in his life. It was evident how thoroughly impressed he was with the change of scenery. He seemed a bit…proud. He had plenty of reason to though, for his father was behind a lot of the UN-led reconstruction.

"I wonder where we go now," Shinji remarked as he looked about to see some sign of NERV or a pick-up. The instructions they had been given were very vague – wait at the station.

"Uh…perhaps the limo," Kyo said, a bit of surprise, as he pointed out to the elongated vehicle pulling up to the parking lot of the train station. The accompanying large, black cars furthered their suspicions, as no ordinary person would be getting such a hefty escort into the city. The final confirmation came when two men wearing black suits stepped out of the lead vehicle and approached the three teenagers.

"Shinji Ikari?" one of the agents asked to confirm, to which Shinji nodded. "Come with us." An opened door into the limo awaited them, beckoning them to step inside. A very pleasant surprise awaited Shinji inside the vehicle. Sitting comfortably at the far end of the limousine was the redheaded, fiery, Germanic Eva pilot. She wore a simple white blouse with rolled-up sleeves, a small red scarf, and a knee-length black skirt. It brought a much more mature look to the once childish young teen that Shinji remembered four years ago. The biggest change that Shinji noticed was that Asuka had cut her hair, which now stopped at her shoulders.

"Asuka!" Shinji exclaimed from the surprise of seeing his friend and comrade in arms.

"Long time no see," she smirked as she motioned for Shinji and the others to take a seat so the limousine could get back on the road. "For a second, I thought you weren't going to have the guts to come back."

"Funny, I was going to say something along those lines about you," Shinji quipped, which brought out a sort of mock-frown from Asuka.

"And no surprise she's come back too," Asuka added, the slightest hint of disdain in her voice when she spoke about Rei, who took her seat next to Shinji. Asuka's eyes panned over and fixed upon the newcomer to the group, Kyo. "You must be the sharp-tongued, cynical, nosey jerk that Shinji's told me about."

"And you must be the loud-mouthed, vindictive bitch from hell," Kyo replied without so much as missing a beat in the conversation. Both held the same smug smirk across their faces but before they could continue Shinji stepped in.

"So Asuka…I assume you've finished your Master's degree," Shinji commented. Normally it was a bad idea to give a topic for Asuka to gloat about but Kyo and Asuka were on a collisions course, which he didn't want at this very moment…maybe another day. "You were adamant in your remarks about getting it and soon."

"Oh right, about that," Asuka said as her face seemed to light up in pride. "My name is no longer Asuka Langley Soryu…"

"What you got married early too?" Kyo quipped, eliciting another glare from Asuka.

"No," she growled back before clearing her throat. "I am now formally known as Asuka Langley Soryua, Ph.D." Those last three letters rolled off her tongue with such care and pride it was as if she had scaled the highest peaks to earn it.

"You have Ph.D. already?" Shinji replied in surprise. "How the heck did you manage that so quickly?"

"Well apparently my Master's thesis was so good that they decided to recruit me into their accelerated program. It allowed me to bypass my Master's and go straight for my Ph.D. instead. What would've taken me five to six years took me just under four. Impressed yet?"

"If I said 'yes', will you shut up about it?" Kyo once again goaded the young woman. He figured his life could a little bit of excitement in it. What was better than tempting fate itself? Only because Asuka wanted to maintain a good impression with her new commanding officer was she not going to throttle his son.

"Moving on," Asuka grumbled. "The new Commander of NERV has arranged a formal briefing with us tomorrow morning at nine so we've got the remainder of the day to get settled back in. I've already moved my stuff in so it's just a matter of moving the rest of your stuff in now."

There was silence in the limo, save for the sounds of the vehicle driving along the city roads. Shinji and Kyo were stunned at first, blinking a few times before Shinji was able to regain his composure. "What are you talking about?"

"Haven't they told you? We've been put into a four-bedroom condo – something about wanting to make it easier to keep in contact with us," Asuka explained. "I'm assuming it's not a problem with any of you?" Nobody voiced a complaint, though the person who would have the most difficulty in this four-person arrangement would be Asuka…especially since it was no secret that she didn't get along with Rei. Hopefully, the two would be able to give each other enough distance to avoid an ugly confrontation.

"I guess I should be grateful my father would go to such lengths to make sure I'm not living alone," Kyo muttered to himself as he shifted his gaze to out the tinted window.

---------------------

"I never realized this building had four-bedroom condos," Shinji commented as the four teens stepped into their new home. The fully furnished condominium was filled with all the bells and whistles needed to make a teenager's life comfortable, including a fully stocked kitchen. Perhaps the best feature about this condominium was the fact that it was located in the same building as Misato's. At first he figured it was a coincidence until they found out that the condo was even on the same floor as Misato, which tipped Shinji off that the new Deputy Commander clearly had an influence in this decision.

The front door led into the living room, which was furnished with the usual couch, coffee table, bookshelves, and a few easy chairs for relaxing. It connected via a wide doorway to the kitchen, which was a pristine white with everything from floor tiles and the stone countertops being a shade of white. It was hard to believe that a condo of this quality existed in the same building as Misato's but there were signs that recent renovations had been made in this building, most likely for their arrival. Extending from the living room was the hallway that connected to all the bedrooms and one of the two bathrooms, the other being located near the front entrance. The living room led to the balcony, which had a wonderful view of the east side of the city.

"Man this is better than my home," Kyo remarked as he unslung one of his bags and set it down on the couch as he walked further into the condo. "I knew that NERV would go to some lengths to make your lives comfortable but I never imagined that they would roll out the blood red carpet for us. Thank goodness I'm the Commander's son or I would've been stuffed into some single-bedroom apartment." It was only because of the Colonel's influence that Kyo was allowed to live with the Eva pilots. The Colonel explicated stated that he wanted his son in a place where he could be kept safe. Kyo wouldn't be surprised if he was hauled into the geofront from time to time just for the sole purpose of keeping him safe.

"When do you think we should visit Misato?" Shinji asked aloud.

"She's at work so probably not until this evening. Besides, you guys need to get unpacked cause I don't want your shit in the living room," Asuka insisted with a wave of her hand. By taking a seat on the couch, she confirmed Shinji's expectation that Asuka wasn't going to life a finger to help them. Why would she?

"We should probably also figure out what the best route to the university is," Kyo added as he picked his bags up again as Asuka 'requested'.

"I'll drive you," Asuka spoke up.

"You have a car?"

"Fully licensed and luckily for Rei it can seat four," she answered, not hiding her dislike of the other female roommate.

"By the way, what are you going to be doing while we're at school?" Shinji asked curiously.

"I got regular day job so I'll be kept plenty busy while you people are out getting your higher education." It made sense really. A teenager with a Ph.D. would be hard to come by and while some might use her age against her, most would probably see it as a further sign of just how intellectually gifted she was. As Asuka turned on the television, the other teens headed out to figure out which bedroom would go to each student. Since most of the bedrooms were the same size overall, it was simply a matter who got to each room first. In the end, Shinji and Rei took the bedrooms one side of the hallways, while Kyo took the available bedroom on the other side next to Asuka's room. While Shinji and Rei worked on getting their rooms set up, Kyo simply tossed his things onto the provided bed and returned to the living room. There wasn't much for him to set up so he figured he could do it at a later time, namely while the others were busy with their morning briefing with the people at NERV.

"So 'doc', did the guys at NERV really want to keep us in the same building to ensure ease of communication with us?" Kyo asked as he sat down on the couch near Asuka, though putting sufficient distance between them to keep safe. "Cause I'm pretty sure an organization as big as NERV can handle keeping track of people in multiple condos. A palatable lie but I think you could've just told the truth."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Asuka denied, maintaining her calm demeanor as she flipped through the channels.

"I'm thinking you don't want to live on your own, not when you have people like Shinji or Misato that you can move in with. What makes me curious is why you would appear to be so reluctant to admit that you want to live with somebody else. Is it because you don't want to betray that image of independence you've probably worked so hard to achieve?"

"Are you trying to psychoanalyze me?" Asuka remarked, clearly avoiding the question.

"It's a bit of a hobby of mine – people fascinate me and Shinji's stories have intrigued me to great lengths."

"And what lies has that boy been telling you?"

"For starters you seem to like kissing when you're bored…so please warn me if you're starting to feel bored so I can get the hell out of here." Kyo managed a wry chuckle at his own joke, though Asuka wasn't laughing.

"Well Shinji's told me a fair bit about you too. He said you tend to stick your nose into places it doesn't belong."

"Sounds about right," Kyo replied, chuckling lightly again.

"He also mentioned something about being jealous cause he gets more attention from girls than you," Asuka continued with a sinister smirk across her face. Now it was Kyo's turn to return the comments with an annoyed glare. "With that attitude of yours its no surprise that you can't find a girl."

"That was more than three years ago," Kyo answered, managing to keep his cool. "Of course I've heard you haven't really faired well with the opposite sex either. Sure you've gotten lots of admirers but you've probably dismissed every last one of them, right? The only people you ever seem to be interested in are the ones you can't seem to have. You like giving yourself challenges? Or maybe you're just afraid of succeeding in getting close to somebody because you'd have to open yourself to them?" Asuka frowned angrily at Kyo, promptly reaching out and bringing an open palm about to slap the insolent teen across the face. However, despite the speed of her movements his hand rose up and stopped her hand from making contact with him. "I've been doing martial arts for more than ten years now, you're going to have to try a little harder."

"You're a real ass, you know that?"

"You like it though – somebody who's not afraid of you."

"How did somebody like you manage to stay friends with Shinji?"

"Same way you did."

"I bet you think we're a lot alike, don't you?"

"We're probably just as much alike as we are different. We both like to think we're always right, we both quite often are, we don't like being known, and we tend to let our temper get the better of us…though you're less inhibited to actually knocking somebody's lights out."

"Just how much did Shinji talk about me?"

"A lot more than you'd think. He holds a great deal of respect for you, probably more than you think and I think you hold a lot more respect for him than you're willing to admit."

"And what if I was?"

"What the hell do I look like? A psychiatrist? You figure it out." For once, both Kyo and Asuka shared in a light-hearted laugh. Whether or not they'd grow to be bitter enemies or close friends remained in question at the moment. The irked each other just as much as they enjoyed each other's company and while they had only actually known each other for a short while, Shinji had told so much about each of them they felt that they had a slight understanding of the other person. Kyo had the advantage that he was actually good at reading people while Asuka was just plain smart in general and a lot better at getting on people's nerves when she wanted to.

"You've got a real attitude, you know that? I kinda like it. Not quite as annoying as Shinji and you've certainly got more backbone than him. Too bad you weren't the Third Child four years ago, maybe I would've enjoyed myself more," Asuka finally answered after they calmed down. They exchanged a silent, but friendly, smile to one another before relaxing to watch the TV together. "So have those two gone out yet?" Asuka asked several minutes later, during a lengthy commercial break.

"Seriously, only once and that was to a senior prom I managed to trick Shinji into thinking Rei was subtly asking him out to. Aside from that it's always just been as friends. You're not…interested in Shinji are you?"

"Good god no," Asuka adamantly denied. "I just don't those two. They act like they should be going out together and yet they don't. Shinji was always intrigued by Rei four years ago…I figured in these past four years he would've grown a spine, or a pair, and try asking her out. Never understood his fascination with her…she barely talks as it is and I have never seen her do anything I would consider even remotely fun. I don't even think she does 'fun'. You've been around them for the past four years, what do you think?"

"What I think is irrelevant at this point. If they were going to do something, they would've done so years ago. Anybody who's talked with either of them can tell that there's a great deal of emotional connection between them, it's just a matter of getting one of them to actually act on those feelings rather than sitting idly by and waiting to see where things take them. I've tried for four years and to be honest, I'm sick of trying. I need to focus on getting into my own relationships, which, by the way, has been on hold a great deal because of my constant involvement with Shinji and Rei."

"They are an odd pair…" Asuka sighed lightly.

"My theory is everybody is screwed up in their own way."

"So how're you screwed up?"

"I'm naturally bitter, cynical, and distrusting of other people."

"And according to you I'm a vindictive bitch from hell."

"A loud-mouth, vindictive bitch from hell," Kyo corrected.

"Thanks for reminding me, I'm poisoning your cereal tomorrow."

"I'll put a laxative in your coffee."

"Did Shinji ever tell you about the time I made him wear a spare female plug suit?"

"He conveniently left out such details, perhaps you could fill them in," Kyo smiled again as he shifted position so the two could talk to one another better.

---------------------

"A Lieutenant Colonel…it's going to be weird not having Misato as our Chief of Operations anymore," Shinji commented as the four teens walked down the hall towards the condo of the senior officer. It was much later in the evening now, roughly around the time that Misato should be home. Their calls to the NERV headquarters confirmed that Misato was no longer working that night, so they decided to finally drop in to pay a visit to their friend and former commanding officer.

"Apparently Captain Yamato is a bit of a hard-ass," Asuka replied.

"What's your father like anyways?" Shinji asked for some background info on their new Commander from Kyo.

"The apple did not fall far from the tree," Kyo answered plainly, his voice containing a mixture of annoyance and admiration. "He's a man who knows what he wants and knows how to get it regardless of what's in his way. A manipulative son of a bitch if there ever was one. Still, he knows how to get the job done and he does it tough but fairly."

"I hope you don't have a father complex too," Asuka muttered, referring to Shinji's relationship with the former Commander of NERV.

"Compared to Shinji, my relationship with my dad is picturesque." While they weren't very close or personal with one another, they didn't hate each other. Neutral would be the most accurate way to describe their relationship. While both were concerned about the well being of the other, neither was really an active part in the other's life. It wasn't perfect but there wasn't anything that needed fixing anymore. They didn't need each other, so there was no need to try and force a relationship on them.

Finally arriving at the front door of Lt. Col. Katsuragi, Shinji decided it would be more polite to knock rather than just walk in. Considering how Misato used to walk around the place half-naked when there wasn't any company there, Shinji figured it'd be a good idea to give Misato some heads up that somebody was at the door.

However, when the door opened, it wasn't Misato on the other side. Instead, there was a young girl probably around the same age as Shinji and the others. Her eyes shimmered in a turquoise hue and her sandy brown hair was tied back into a ponytail that extended to the small of her back. The clothes she wore, a simple gold blouse and purple jeans, seemed a little large on her and the cheerful, polite smile that she wore to greet the four teens confused them greatly. Had they gotten the wrong room or had Misato changed condos? Shinji knew that Misato would be a little depressed now that the condo was short two occupants but he never thought Misato would change condos because of it.

"Hello, can I help you?"

"Um…I'm sorry, I think we have the wrong room," Shinji hastily replied, hoping to avoid an awkward situation.

"How about you tell who you're looking for and I'll tell you if you have the right room or not?" the girl replied.

"We're looking for Misato Katsuragi."

The girl looked at the three Eva pilots closely, almost as if trying to a put a name to their faces, before finally grinning brightly to them. "Oh! You must be the kids she's told me about," she finally answered. "Hey Misato! You're friends are here!" After calling to somebody deeper in the condo, the girl motioned for Shinji and the others to come and make themselves at home.

"I wondered how Misato would cope with our departure…" Asuka muttered quietly.

"Looks like she's found a replacement already," Shinji answered.

"You never told me she collected kids," Kyo added at the end, as he entered the condo and shut the door behind him.


	8. Chapter 7: Woman of Judea

**Chapter Seven: Woman of Judea**

"So how much can't you remember?"

"I can barely remember the day it happened and a lot of the month leading up to it was hazy. Aside from that, everything else is fine," Misato said, answering Asuka's question as the four teens sat with the young officer. Shinji and the others were lucky, as they had just arrived at Misato's door only a few minutes after Misato returned home from a late night at the NERV headquarters. She hadn't even gotten a real chance to change out of her work clothes when Shinji had knocked on the door. After a lengthy and warm reunion between the pilots and their former commanding officer, they all took a seat in the living room, which looked remarkably different from the last time they had sat there.

"If you don't mind me asking, why do things seem so…different here? Have you redecorated?" Shinji asked as he glanced around the room.

Misato laughed lightly before taking a sip from her glass, which housed a dark brown liquid. "Me…redecorate? I wish! I couldn't redecorate this place if my life depended on it. The place has just been tidied up. You should see my room now, you can actually see all of the carpet now." Shinji wondered why there seemed to be a lack of any lingering odor in the condominium, especially when he had glanced into the kitchen and saw not one beer can or empty bottle laying around. It seemed to be too good to be true. It might've been four years but Shinji couldn't imagine Misato changing to such extreme lengths in that short period of time.

"I've never seen you pick up after yourself once," Asuka remarked, challenging the validity of Misato's statements.

"Who said I cleaned it? It's all been her," Misato said as she pointed to the young girl that had answered the door earlier. Despite the pressing curiosity over the girl, Shinji was more focused on catching up with his old friend and surrogate mother. Now that the conversation had shifted over to the new girl, who was currently heading over to the kitchen, Shinji figured it was a good time to shed light on the subject.

"So…who is she anyways?" Shinji inquired as everyone glanced over towards the kitchen, though the young girl wasn't visible from where they sat.

"Her name's Judith Adam, she's been staying with me for about a month now," Misato explained. "Hey Judy, could you come in here for a moment?"

"Be there in a second!" Judy shouted back from the kitchen. A few moments later, the teen returned to the living room carrying a tray with a kettle of tea and several cups. After setting the tray down on the coffee table, she took a seat on the couch next to Misato. "It's nice to meet you all. Misato's told me so much about you…um, except you." Kyo was, obviously, a mystery to Misato and Judy.

"I'm Kyo Musashi, I just get dragged along wherever he goes," Kyo answered, pointing to Shinji for a moment before getting himself a cup of tea. Up until this point, the conversations didn't concern Kyo to much extent but Judy seemed to fascinate him for some reason; perhaps it was because she was the only person without any Japanese blood in them at the table.

"I can't believe you would just replace us like that," Asuka remarked, almost sounding insulted that Misato would take in another person after Shinji and Asuka. Of course, their departure was probably the exact reason that Misato took in another. Misato had grown so accustomed to having somebody in the house aside from Pen Pen that she took in the first person she could find. Shinji, however, knew that Misato was not somebody who could just take anybody into her own home…this Judy girl must have made quite an impact to have earned a place at this condo. Judging by the cleanliness, the quality of the tea he was drinking, and the smell of expertly prepared food lingering from the kitchen hinted at the possibility that Judy earned her place mostly by what she could provide Misato.

"I haven't replaced you. I would've loved to have had you come back and stay here…but I figured now that you were all grown up you'd be more interested in finding a place to live on your own," Misato explained, trying to appease the Red Devil. "It's not like I've found somebody exactly like either of you."

"Yeah, for starters it smells like she can cook better than Shinji," Asuka chuckled.

"She's certainly got better manners than Asuka," Shinji quickly retorted.

"And she's definitely cuter than either of you," Kyo ended, which made Judy giggle and blush in embarrassment. She barely knew these people and yet they seemed to be accepting her already. Misato had talked about these children many times in the past, so Judy had been excited about finally meeting them. She could only hope that she would be as good a co-habitant as Shinji or Asuka.

"How'd you wind up living here anyways?" Shinji finally asked the question that had been lingering on his and Asuka's mind ever since the conversation started. Misato looked over to Judy for a moment, apparently making sure that it was okay with Judy to talk about how they met. It struck all of them as unusual…but rather than ask they waited for the story.

"Well it all happened about four weeks ago…"

---------------------

**Four Weeks Ago**

_"Dammit…I can't believe this is all they had left. It'll have to do,"_ Misato mentally sighed as she strolled down the sidewalk with a large paper bag cradled close to her body. The sun was only just starting to set in the horizon and Misato was on her way back to her condo from the corner store. Unfortunately, the supplies in her kitchen had been neglected for far too long and were in desperate need of restocking. It had been hard these past few years without Shinji around to share some of the workload with...though it was certainly quieter without Asuka around. She missed them both terribly, of course, and hoped that they would come back some soon even if it did mean having them go back into danger.

"Pastrami…it'll have to do," Misato groaned as she fished the saran-wrapped sandwich out of the paper bag. She had picked up a couple of sandwiches for dinner that night, along with a bunch of others things that would be good for dinner on a night when Misato had more energy to spare. "I just hope Pen Pen doesn't mind a few nights with canned fish…"

Due to a rather slow-adjusting human resource department, the paychecks with Misato's new and improved pay was still absent. Misato was grateful that the UN was willing to handle Misato's finances while she was still in a coma but now she had to repay them in one way or another. Misato opted for the paying back with plain, old cash…though that was now leaving a bit of a hole in her pocketbook, at least until she could get hold of her new paychecks.

A ringing from her coat pocket snapped Misato out of her finance-related thoughts. It took some careful juggling with her grocery bag and fishing through her coat pockets before she could finally find her cell phone and answer the call. "Katsuragi speaking."

"Hope I'm not disturbing anything Katsuragi," the Colonel's voice spoke from the other end of the line.

"Not at all sir," Misato lied flatly. She really didn't like having to talk on a cell phone while in the middle of a sidewalk. "What can I do you for?"

"At the moment not a great deal but I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to come into the office early tomorrow. Lieutenant Ibuki and Washington want to discuss some of the plans they've drawn up for the Eva reconstructions and they'll only be able to do it in the morning."

"And why can't they do it in the afternoon when I'm more available?"

"Cause they're still here at the geofront and they'll probably be here all night so I'm sending them home tomorrow afternoon - that's why. Be at your office at 0800 and that's an order."

Misato mentally sighed at the prospect of an early morning workday. As much as she hated it, she was warned when she took the job that being Deputy Commander would require a lot more of her time than being Chief of Operations ever could. It wasn't the first time that the Colonel had asked Misato to come in early and while it bothered her to come in at ungodly hours of the morning, Misato had never once come in early and saw the Colonel's office empty. Sometimes it seemed like the Colonel lived in his office. She had seen the couch in his office with turned pillows and sprawled blankets before, suggesting that it had been used the night before. "Yes sir," Misato finally answered and ended the call.

It would seem that finding time to sleep and regain her energy was out of the question now, which meant that tomorrow evening would wind up being much like this one. Another night of instant noodles wasn't going to kill her, though she personally wished that, after nearly ten years, she could get off the college-student diet. After pocketing her phone, Misato figured she might as well start eating now cause she wouldn't have much time in her condo to have a few minutes to herself. Tearing open the wrappings with her teeth, Misato took a bite out of the cold sandwich, though was met with a rather bland taste. "Ugh, can't believe I wasted my money on this," Misato said after spitting out the mouthful of the single-handedly worst sandwich she had ever tasted. It didn't take very long to conclude that she'd rather sacrifice some of her already valuable time and make boil up some noodles when she got home.

"What a horrible day," Misato scoffed and tossed the pitiful excuse for a sandwich aside, which bounced off a large, discarded pile of blankets and rags.

"Hey, watch it!" A voice called out suddenly.

Misato looked around to try and figure out what the source of the voice was but couldn't find anybody else on the empty sidewalk. It wasn't until the piles of rags and blankets began to move did she realize that there was more to the pile than she had originally thought. Out from under it, a young girl uncovered herself and right away Misato realized that she had just hit a homeless child with her discarded sandwich. Her clothes were old and slightly tattered, her hair obviously not looked after in many months, and the lingering smell of a person who had been outdoors and had not bathed since the last time it rained. "You shouldn't litter," the young girl said, oddly not bothered about being hit by a sandwich.

"Um…sorry about that," Misato apologized, feeling a bit awkward at this point.

"That's a perfectly good sandwich, you shouldn't throw away something so carelessly," the girl continued as she picked up the sandwich and handed it back to Misato, who was too surprised by the girl's behavior to say anything at first. The girl standing before was tall and very thin…probably hadn't eaten in a long time, or is like almost every other teenager on the planet. "You should probably get going now, I'm sure you've got a lot to do."

Now there had been a lot of people left homeless with all the chaos going on in the world around them but this girl was arguably one of the most well-mannered homeless children Misato had ever come across. "Oh…right, of course. It's just that…I'm not really interested in eating this anymore so…would…you be interested in it? I mean, the half I hadn't taken a bit out of."

The girl looked at the sandwich for a moment, then at Misato for a bit longer. "I can't eat this."

"I know it's not a great sandwich but it's better than nothing." Misato didn't want to sound insistent or judgmental about the girl and her predicament. However, she didn't want to just leave this girl alone…something about her struck Misato as out of place. Aside from looking like a mess, the girl had all the mannerisms of a more refined child rather than one on the streets.

"I mean…I can't eat this for other reasons," the girl politely declined once again.

"You're a vegetarian?" Misato asked, taking a look at the sandwich again. It was just a simple pastrami sandwich.

"No, it's not that. I…don't like those kind of sandwiches."

"You don't even know what it is."

"Its um…meat with mayo on white bread. I just…I don't like those kind of sandwiches."

Misato was a little puzzled by this sudden change in behavior, going from her usual polite demeanor and now being withdrawn by this subject. "Meat and mayo? What's your name?"

"It's…Judith. Judith Adam ma'am."

"You're Jewish, aren't you?"

The girl fell oddly silent at this point. Every passing moment that Misato spent around this homeless young girl the girl became more and more peculiar. She didn't answer verbally…simply nodding her head sheepishly. "Not a lot of people in the world…even less Jewish folks." Second Impact devastated a lot of the world. People from all races and religions died because of it…the minorities of the world became even smaller. "You should go ma'am, I'm sure you've got better things to do than hang around a homeless kid." Judith was on her way back to the pile of blankets that she called 'home' to settle in for the evening the small alcove along the street when Misato stopped her.

"Wait a second," Misato blurted out, catching the girl's attention. "It's uh…going to be really cold tonight. I've got…a spare bedroom if you're interested." Misato wasn't sure what the hell was going through her mind when she brought up the offer. To suggest such a thing to a complete stranger was complete madness and yet…something seemed very right about it. It felt a bit like fate. Judy stared at Misato like a deer stares at a set of headlights, likely trying to determine if Misato was being sincere or attempting to build up false hopes. After a long and thought-filled stare, Judy's eyes lit up brightly.

"I would be honoured!" Judy exclaimed.

"Come on then, it's only a few blocks to my place." Misato motioned for Judy to follow along, which she did without hesitation. As they strolled along the sidewalk, Judy began to share her own life story with Misato, who was curious as to how such a refined young lady wound up on the streets like this. As it turned out, Judy's family first moved to Tokyo-3 several years ago with her father being a big-shot military man. However, Judy lost both her parents during an Angel attack four years ago and she been living on her own ever since. She was able to stay afloat in her own home for a little while but her father had left behind many debts and soon Judy had lost everything and was living on the streets. It was only through resourcefulness and a whole damn lot of faith was Judy able to survive those harsh years on the streets of this massive city.

By the time that the pair reached Misato's condo, Judy had given pretty much all the information that Misato needed to understand where Judy came from. "I hope you don't mind a bit of a mess. I really need to clean the place up," Misato apologized in advance before she opened the door for Judy.

"It's um…not that bad," Judy said, sugar-coating the truth as she glanced around the condo. Judy wasn't too picky really. It was infinitely better than the streets of course and it had temperature control and privacy. For Judy, it was far more than she ever expected to have. "So can I just sleep on the couch or something?"

"I told you I have a spare bedroom. I insist that you use that."

"Not to sound ungrateful, but you are certainly putting a lot of trust into a person you still barely know. How do you know I'm not going to rob you or something?"

"I have my reasons but I'll put it very simply. If you were going to rob me, I've got friends in very high places that would like to have a word with you and they can find pretty much anybody. Besides, you're living on the streets and you're still abiding by your dietary laws, I'm pretty sure you're not going to break one of the Ten Commandments either."

"Good point," Judy laughed softly as Misato showed her the empty bedroom that once belonged to Asuka. "Wow…I'm getting a whole bedroom to myself?"

"I said it was a spare. Now you can make yourself at home, there's a shower over there and I'll see about scrounging up some better clothes for you."

"Oh, I couldn't ask to take some of your things…"

"It'll be some old stuff from my college days. I haven't worn them in years…it's best somebody uses them cause I'm never going to fit into them anymore."

While Misato returned to her room to start searching through old boxes of clothes, Judy made liberal use of the shower offer. It had been far too long since Judy had last enjoyed a hot shower and she made good use of it. In fact, even once Misato had dropped off some old clothes for Judy to use, she was still using the shower. Thank goodness Misato was already used to having a teenaged girl sucking up all the hot water in the house.

While Judy continued to absorb all the hot water in the building, Misato figured she'd go work on making some dinner by putting on a kettle for some noodles. "Hm…I wonder where Pen Pen is…" Misato muttered to herself as she waited for the kettle to come to a boil.

"Oh my god!" Judy's voice shouted through the entire condo.

"That answers my question…"

"You are so cute!" Seconds later Judy came bursting into the kitchen, still a bit wet and wrapped cozily in a towel, carrying the small penguin in her arms. "You have a pet penguin?" Judy rhetorically gasped in delight, which just made Misato laugh softly to herself. Judy was at least having a far better reaction to the penguin than Shinji did when they first met.

"I've had him for a while now. His name's Pen Pen."

"Oh he's just adorable!" Judy gushed as she gave the penguin a loving hug, which he seemed to enjoy a fair bit. Judy then rushed off to get changed, still carrying Pen Pen with her. It was nice having somebody around the house that adored that little lazy sack of feathers as much as she did. After a brief change, Judy finally returned to the kitchen wearing the new clothes provided to her, which was a simple t-shirt and old jeans that were still a bit big on her body, but were far better than her old clothes. "Thanks for the new clothes…they fit pretty well."

"Like I said, I'd rather see them get put to good use by somebody than just gathering dust in my closet. Now, I wish I could keep you entertained for longer but I've got to eat dinner and then tend to some stupid paperwork in my room, after which I'm likely just going to pass out in my bed. I have to go into work early tomorrow as well so I'll probably be gone before you wake up…just, feel free to make use of the condo until I get back."

"What time will you be getting back tomorrow?"

"Five-ish," Misato answered as she poured the now boiling water into a cup of noodles. "Try not to make a mess of the place."

"That I can do!"

---------------------

As Misato had said the day before, she was returning home from work at a little after five o'clock in the evening. She felt completely bushed after such an exhaustingly long day at the office. Higher pay or not, Misato was beginning to question whether or not she was going to be able to keep up with this schedule as Deputy Commander. Misato just had to keep reminding herself that this was the only way she was going to see Shinji and Asuka again with no other viable positions in NERV for her.

"I hope Judy wasn't too bored without me," Misato remarked, though highly doubting it, as she finally reached her condo…her fortress of solitude. "Hey Judy I'm ho-" Misato's words ended abruptly when she saw the interior of the condo. It was…pristine. Everything had been neatly arranged and cleaned up: the carpets vacuumed, the kitchen mopped and swept, the walls scrubbed, the shower washed, the toilet cleaned, the counters dusted…everything. What more there was the smell of something absolutely delicious now lingering in the air. Trying to figure out if she had just stepped through some sort of gateway to an alternate reality or not, Misato raced to the kitchen to find Judy standing over the stove wearing nothing but a pair of shorts and an apron. On the stove was a large frying pan with a huge mixture of vegetables and meats inside it, sizzling to prefecture.

"Oh! Hello Misato," Judy greeted, a little embarrassed that Misato caught her in the kitchen like this.

"What's going on? What happened to my condo?"

"I cleaned up. Like you said, you really needed to give the place a thoroughly cleaning," Judy explained as she tended to the cooking food.

"And…what's that in the pan?"

"A simple stir fry – completely kosher might I add. I thought a freshly-made dinner would be a good way to pay you back after letting me spend the night."

"Wow, I haven't had somebody make a stir fry like that in years," Misato commented as she gazed at the food in awe.

"I also cleaned up your room a bit. I hope you don't mind…it was such a mess I couldn't help myself. I'm a bit of a neat-freak…"

"I…I don't know what to say," Misato said as she gazed around the kitchen. All the cupboards had been organized and the countertops cleared of clutter. A recycling bin also sat next to the garbage where all the old beer cans and liquor bottles now resided. In less than twenty-four hours this girl had done more to the condo than Misato had in the past four years.

"A 'thank you' would suffice."

"You know…this place could really use somebody like you around."

"Excuse me?"

"I've been so busy lately that I'm barely able to keep this place in order…and Pen Pen has been dying of boredom lately. I used to have a bunch of roommates years ago but when they all left I've been sort of burdening a load that I haven't had to in a while. My new job has been sucking up all my time and…"

"So you want me to stay around and do those little things around the house for you?"

"Heh, it sounds kind of selfish now that you put it that way."

"I'd be glad to."

"You would?"

"If a little cleaning and cooking is all I need to do to have a place to sleep and a roof over my head, I'll be more than willing to stay. Heck, I'll do you laundry too if you want."

"So you'll be interested in staying here?"

"I'd love to. You seem like a really nice person…and I have a good eye for judging a person's character."

"You're a really sweet girl too. It's been such a long time since I've had somebody to come home to…"

"So it's not just the cooking and cleaning you miss, is it?"

"I guess not…"

---------------------

"I told you Misato replaced us," Asuka commented once the story had concluded.

"I did not replace you. Judy needed a place to live and I had more than enough room to help. Besides…I like having somebody to live with, being with you two had sort of made me fond of the company."

"Well I'm glad you found somebody good to live with," Shinji added. Unlike Asuka a new person living with Misato didn't bother him. In fact, Shinji thought it was nice for Misato to be helping out another person as she was, even if it was partly because Misato was too lazy to take care of herself.

"I've got a good feeling about Judy," Misato said as she patted the young girl on the back. "You should come by for breakfast tomorrow…I guarantee it'll be a meal you never forget."

"I don't know…I'm pretty forgetful," Kyo remarked with a smirk.

"Stop by tomorrow," Judy invited once more. "Please."

Well…no college student was going to bother turning down a free meal.


	9. Chapter 8: Socratic Minds

**Chapter Eight: Socratic Minds**

**"It's a shame your friends had to leave so soon," **Judy commented as she sat down on the opposite side of the dinner table, watching Kyo devour a plate of pancakes. Due to the orders of the NERV commander, Misato and the pilots were to report for a brief re-orientation for the pilots. From what Kyo overheard, there was a great deal of reorganization within the NERV hierarchy, including procedures and protocols. Most of them wouldn't apply to the pilot but the NERV senior officers decided it'd be best for them to know. Plus, the orientation would serve as a good opportunity to introduce the pilots to the new members of the senior staff at NERV and show them the upgraded Evangelion units.

"They have to go to work. The world isn't going to save itself you know?" Kyo commented between mouthfuls of the fluffy, golden brown pancakes smothered in syrup. "Their loss though cause between these pancakes and saving the world, I choose these pancakes." Judy laughed bashfully from the constant praise, as it was the fourth time that Kyo had complimented her cooking skills. Of course the young girl was not used to such high regards from others but she hadn't spent much time around people in the past four years because of her former circumstances. "What's in these anyways?"

"Oh the usual, just added some buttermilk, macadamia nuts, and diced apples to the mix. My father used to make these all the time on Sundays. It was his sort of little tradition in the family." Judy was being modest while trying to take some hint of satisfaction knowing that she had brighten the youngster's day by a little bit with a hearty breakfast. "Boy, you certainly have quite an appetite there. I assume you'll want some more?"

"Let's just say it's been a while since I've had cooking of this caliber. My mother wasn't the best of chefs and I was usually left to fend for myself back home. Here, I'm probably the best cook out of the household," Kyo explained as he handed the empty plate to Judy for the fifth time that morning. "You know you're spoiling me with all this food? I might have to steal you away from Misato one of these days."

"Oh really? I suppose I should watch myself around you," Judy teased with a playful smirk before heading back to the oven. "I guess it's true that the fastest way to a man's heart is through his stomach."

"Actually I think it's more through his sternum. Anatomy isn't one of my strong suits."

"And what are your strong suits then?" Judy asked as she poured some more pancake batter onto a frying pan. "Aside from eating everything I put in front of you."

"Well I'm an engineer by education but I find knowing a little bit about everything I come across helps me in the long run. Kind of like a jack of all trades sort of thing – the saying does go that a jack of all trades is a master of none but often better than a master of one."

"I've never heard such a saying before..."

"It just means versatility is more important in the grand scheme of things that mastering one single thing. I think it's important to keep avoid staying in one single field forever. Another saying goes 'to better one's self is to change; to be perfect is to change often'."

"I've never heard of that one either. It's…an unusual saying though I think I get what you mean." Judy's interest in the conversation heightened as they shifted to this more philosophical-orientated conversation. "It means that since nothing stays constant in this world, the only way to actually be perfect is to constantly adapt to the changes."

"Nothing's constant in this world so nothing can be perfect." The conversation was put on hold for a moment as Judy returned with a new stack of pancakes for Kyo to enjoy. She then pulled up a chair to sit and enjoy the remainder of this conversation. "So to be perfect is to change often and if you spend all your time and effort in one thing, you could very well find yourself being unnecessary several years down the line. Thus, spreading out my knowledge I leave myself with plenty of options if I ever decided that one avenue was going to be a bad choice. I do engineering because I think it's my best choice – but I could just as easily going to general physics, mathematics, or even chemistry. Worse comes to worst, I do something like philosophy…but what the hell am I going to with a philosophy degree?"

"Talk philosophy maybe?"

"We're doing it right now. Unless I can get you to pay me to do it I won't exactly be bringing home the bacon. I'm not good enough at philosophy to be one of those big shots that get their names mentioned in philosophy textbooks and talked about around a large table as several guys named Bruce try their hand at the Socratic method."

"I don't think I've heard somebody use the words 'Socratic method' outside of a classroom setting before," Judy remarked. "So let me ask you Mr. Philosopher King, if you don't think anything is perfect…what is perfection?"

"Ooo…how Socratic. I must warn you right now that I just love a woman who knows how to exercise their gray matter."

"I used to read Plato when I was a child."

"That is so totally hot."

"So what do you think perfection is?"

"Perfection, in its truest form, is an idea. It exists only in words and in people's minds. There is no universal perfection because it is not something that can exist in this world. It's like imaging a new colour – you can think of the concept. You can understand every inch of the concept but you can't actually imagine what the end result is. The notion of perfection is simply the carrot that you dangle in front of your face to motivate you to actually get up every morning and try to better yourself as a human being. As I said earlier, to be perfect is to change often…but if you're changing often, you're never actually perfect for any single moment cause to change means there's a flaw, which is contradictory to what perfection is. So in a sense, even changing often isn't perfect in the most fundamental aspects of the word but it is probably the closest any person will ever be able to attain."

"So then would the idea of 'change' be perfection? To be perfect means to be always able to see your flaws and correct them."

"But you're not perfect before the change and in a way, changing yourself would only create new flaws. Don't forget what's a flaw in one scenario might be an advantage in another and the same goes with strengths. So a change doesn't make your perfect overall, just ideal for the situation."

"I'm talking about the concept of change. Would that be perfect?"

"But once again we have merely an idea. We have something that could possibly be an example but we don't have an actual answer to the question in the first place – what is perfection."

"So we've come in a full circle now. In most of the writings about Socrates this is generally where one of us either gets upset with Socrates and leaves, or both agree that we don't know an answer and promise to try and figure it out one day in the future."

"I vote for the second one, since I would have to be the one to get angry and leave," Kyo smirked. "And there's no way I'm leaving these bad boys behind. Forget eternal paradise, when I die I want these waiting for me at the end of the tunnel." Judy laughed again at Kyo's remarks.

"I take it you believe in an afterlife then?" Judy asked, now shifting the conversation to a newer one though still just as likely laced with philosophical undertones as before. "You're a Christian, correct?"

"By birth I'm Roman Catholic but I wouldn't exactly say I'm one by practice," Kyo answered more seriously before finishing off his pancakes once again. Instead of handing the plate back to Judy, though, he simply pushed it aside as he was too engrossed in the conversation to bother Judy to make another batch.

"So what would you say you are by trade then?"

"I…honestly don't know. I guess I've never been that much of a spiritual person."

"I wish I could say I was a better Jew in my lifestyle but you know how hard it is to get a copy of the Torah in Japan? Or a synagogue?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if nobody even makes copies of it. I'm curious as to why your family moved to such a predominately Christian area like Japan. I mean…you'd be a minority pretty much everywhere but I figured you'd be more comfortable in a place like America than in Japan."

"Well that's where I was before I came here. My father was a military officer so it wasn't uncommon for him to get shuttled all over the world. I've lived in Germany, Canada, America, Italy, and I was born shortly after my father finished his first tour in Japan. I'm used to be out of place in this world wherever I go. I simply do what any Jew would do – I hold onto faith and make the best of a bad situation."

"We're not going to get into any arguments about who's right and who's wrong, are we?"

"I could if you'd like to."

"I wouldn't. It's a pointless argument that would grate on each other's nerves. Maybe Judaism is right, maybe Christianity is, and maybe we're both wrong. Or maybe we're both right."

"How does both being right work out?"

"Well to be right means it has to be true. But what's truth? Is there an absolute truth or does simply every person find their own truth that applies to them. If everyone's different in the way they think and perceive, then wouldn't it be reasonable to say that each person is going to see a different 'truth' in life, the world, and everything in it?" Judy tried to follow along, nodding her head slowly as she wrapped her mind around Kyo's words. "So what we have are many different truths – many different roads to salvation and righteousness that one could walk. If there was a supreme being do you think he's going to be worked up on which road people walk, so long as it results in the same good-willed individual that follows good morals and values? A good person is a good regardless of what faith they believe in."

"But different religions have different morals and values. There are Jewish dietary laws for example, or Hinduism's regard for cows, and then there's Christians who don't have any dietary laws. Each of these people would see different things as being grave sins or not."

"But you know almost every religion has a 'do unto others as you would have done unto you' law somewhere in it. I think morality should be more orientated towards people than anything else. Sure your religion might consider pork a sin but does eating pork or not make you a bad person? I think you can agree that what I eat, so long as I don't eat people, doesn't really determine if I'm a good person or not."

"Heh, my father would've liked you," Judy commented, the subject of her lost familiar dragging down the cheeriness of her tone. "He could go for hours debating with people whether or not something was right or wrong. He usually leaned towards whatever brought the most sense of equality in the world."

"And justice to all, eh? Equality is an important thing in this world, another reason why I tend to believe that there's not really one 'truth' in the world. For centuries the religions of the world were fairly isolated from each other. It would be unjust for some people to have the opportunity for salvation simply because they were born in the right region of the world. If God, in whatever form He is, made his presence known to the world, why would he only go to one region? What made the people of ancient Israel better than the people who lived in undiscovered North America? Or the Far East? A just God would not do that."

"Hm, I never really thought of it that way. So…you think that the major religions are actually just God taking a different form to people?"

"In a nutshell – yes. If God came down to the earth all of a sudden some people would see Jesus, some would see Allah, some would see Vishnu or Shiva. It would make sense since even the Torah displays God taking many different forms on Earth. Religion is kind of like a tree – as time passes, more branches are formed and spread out, eventually branching out into new ones as well. Regardless of how many branches form over time, they all lead back to the same root source – the one, or many, Supreme Being."

There was a moment of silence in the room as Judy digested the sheer amount of words that Kyo let fly. She leaned back in her chair, rubbing her chin as the gears in her brain worked at top speed. "Some might consider that an idealistic viewpoint," Judy finally replied. "Some might say that you're lacking integrity and that rather than trying to believe in your own faith, you just prescribe to a belief that all of the views are right, thus saving yourself the problem of being wrong."

"Maybe what we need in this world is a bit of idealism. For the past seventeen years or so humanity has simply been 'making do'. They've been going with what's realistic and possible rather than aiming for the ideal."

"Wouldn't that be aiming for perfection? Something you said didn't actually exist."

"I would rather aim for a non-existent perfection and fall short then settle for aiming low and always making my mark. It's reaching for the stars that made humanity what it was during the 19th and 20th centuries, not 'making do' and 'settling for what they can'. I find a lot of people these days are willing to settle with second best. Sometimes I think that's why those 'Angels' were sent down to this realm…to remind people that you have to dare to believe sometimes…that you have to defy all odds if you ever want to achieve something truly great."

"Kind of like the people who made those giant machines possible," Judy replied, referring to the Evangelions, which were never really explained to the public. If more people were willing to give everything they had to their beliefs…to fight with such integrity and dedication, maybe we wouldn't have a need for God's plans."

"We could make a Heaven on Earth if humanity really tried. But we're always lost in our petty squabbles, aren't we? I don't I've have ever heard of the world agreeing more unanimously on something than when they rose together to defeat the Angels four years ago."

"Do you think they'll ever come back? They've been rebuilding all the old military stuff in the city and I've been seeing military crafts flying over the city again like they did four years ago."

Kyo knew that the answer was a likely 'yes'. Shinji and the others wouldn't have been brought back if they didn't think there was a need for them. The Eva project was too expensive to be something to have 'just in case'. "I doubt it," he lied. "If they were from a higher source, I think they did their job four years ago. There'd be no reason for them to come back now."

"Do you…think maybe the other 'big guy' might come?"

"What…you mean the ultimate evil?"

"Yeah," Judy said, mostly sounding random thoughts aloud. "I mean if the other ones were of God, don't you think the Devil might try something similar?"

"You mean like an apocalypse? I haven't really seen any of the Four Horsemen as of late but I suppose that's entirely possible. I don't see why that would happen though; the Bible tends to depict Satan as being more of a manipulator or tempter, letting people commit the evil and simply staying aside. Humanity does enough evil on its own that there's not really a need for the guy down yonder to make an appearance. People forget about God…but nobody ever forgets about evil."

"I hope your right Kyo. People have had to go through enough in this world in the past two decades…another catastrophe is not what we need."

"No…but how long do you think it'll be before we lose our path again?" Silence overtook the room once again as the two young adults simply stared at each other, absorbing the gravity of their conversation. Both felt something strange and indescribable about the other – something that piqued their interest in ways that they couldn't explain to themselves, let alone to others. Could it just be a mutual attraction? It was entirely possible, especially for two people who had never really had strong feelings about other people. Finally, Kyo smiled kindly to her, leaning forward slight and resting one arm on the table. "I know I'm not exactly a rabbi-certified chef, but would you think it's a little forward of me to invite over for dinner tonight?"

"You sure you don't want me to cook instead?" Judy added, trying to hide a slight reddening of her cheeks.

"Wouldn't be very gentlemanly of me if I asked you to cook for me."

"I honestly don't mind…I haven't had a chance to really cook in a long time."

"Well if you insist, you can handle the cooking."

"Only if you promise to bring another one of those philosophical discussions to the table."

"Should I come up with something on the spot or do you have a subject in mind?"

"How about…love."

"Now there's something I don't know much about. I'd love to."

---------------------

A gentle hiss of rushing air accompanied the seamless movement of the cold metallic doors as they opened. Light scattered across the back of the tall, broad-shouldered young man that marched through the open doorway. His shadow stretched across the unlit ground in the darkened room, existing only for the brief of times before the door behind closed tightly, casting the room into darkness once again. Hollow, echoing footsteps sounded through every inch of the room as the figure walked further and further into the room, stopping at what he knew was to be the very center of the chambers, remaining silent all the while.

"It's good to see you were able to make it on time," a voice echoed through the darkness as a single beam of light shone down from the ceiling, bathing the lone figure in a yellow light. The hood of his brown, monk-like robes cast a shadow down his face, making it impossible to even see who was the person underneath it. Tipping his head upwards ever so slightly, the figure spoke calmly in response.

"One is always ready to be of service," he replied, his voice light, yet disciplined.

"The time has come to ZELLE to act. An opportunity has been missed but with your information a new one has opened. You must find this 'Thirteenth' that you spoke of by any means necessary."

"And what of NERV, their agents will likely try to interfere. The wolf can only stay dressed as a sheep for so long."

"You are to remain under cover at all times. Use any means needed to maintain that cover agent. If you are discovered, your life is forfeit, is that clear?"

"Of course sir."

"Is the child ready?"

"Number four stands ready for deployment as needed."

"You have spoken quite highly of the sixth child, do not disappoint us agent."

"I have no intention. You shall have your 'Instrumentality', I promise."

More light began to appear in the room as several monitors began to light up. Each of them began to display old footage of the old sorties of NERV and the Evangelion units. Three screens in particular halted on a single photo, though, one of each of the three children – Asuka, Rei, and Shinji. A second light shone from the ceiling, now illuminating a single table near the wall of computer screens. On the table lay three file folders, each with a picture of their respected pilot clipped to the surface, and a single pistol and clip. Accompanied by the echoing footsteps once again, the young man walked over to the table and began to thumb through each of the file folders on the table.

"One of them will know how to find what you seek…do what you must to get that information. Try not to kill them though…they still have a mission to do."

"I wouldn't dream of hurting such fine looking young ladies," the young man mused as he held the photos of Asuka and Rei.

"Do not underestimate the First Child, she is exceptionally loyal and very perceptive."

"Then we better not hope that she's the one with the information."

"It will most likely be the Third - the Ikari child."

"Hm, he seems to be close with the First. That might make my job a bit easier. Is there anything else you wish to add before I go?"

"Just remember who you serve. Do not think of betraying us."

"Then don't give me a reason to. Let me do my job and we won't have any problems." One by the one, the computer screens began to flicker off before the room became pitch dark again. Light only entered the room again when the door opened once more and the lone figure exited the room, carrying the file folders under one arm. Once the door shut behind him, the young man reached into an inside pocket and pulled out a small cellular phone. A single push of a button put the desired number into the device and ringing soon followed. "The mission has been given the green light. I'll be making contact with the pilots tomorrow. Tell the boys to get the Eva ready."


	10. Chapter 9: Sobering Thoughts

**Chapter Nine: Sobering Thoughts**

"And with that we are right back where we started. Like I said before, the layout for NERV hasn't changed a great deal since the last time you three were here. It'll take some getting used to again but I'm sure you won't get lost too often," Misato concluded as she and the three pilots came to a halt just outside the main command center. Since NERV was a little on the big side to be giving a full tour off, Misato just took the children over the important locations and some of the newer facilities that they would likely frequent often, which included everything from new weapon's facilities, training simulators, and training rooms. NERV had progressed steadily from its original purposes when first started years ago; the UN had succeeded into militarizing the facilities, increasing security and structural integrity of the geofront. "There's still a fair bit of work left to do before this place is completely up and running but I doubt you three will notice any problems."

"Well that was very…um, unnecessary," Asuaka replied, voicing the same sense of boredom that Shinji was feeling at the moment, though dared not speak it. "Please tell me that my perfectly good morning has been wasted for more than just a hundred yen tour."

"I see four years hasn't improved your patience much," Misato quipped before reaching into the file folder that had been tucked under her arm for the past several hours. "Since you've all were officially discharged years ago, you get the fun of going through all the fun process of initiation. I hope you've been keeping yourself healthy." Misato pulled out a handful of papers and handed one to each of the pilots, smiling a very odd smirk in the process. "Have fun and welcome back."

"A half-mile jog?" Asuka shouted in disbelief as she read the first thing on the page. "Why do I have to run like a ground-pounder to pilot an Eva?"

"I told Captain Yamato that too…he said he thought you could stand to lose a few pounds," Misato joked before walking off to leave the pilots to their 'work'.

"I…I haven't gotten fat? Have I? Right?"

"Try not to have a heart attack Asuka," Shinji couldn't help but throw in that comment before the three went their separate ways. Each of them had a schedule of various protocols and procedures they needed to clear before they could be allowed back into NERV and Shinji had a briefing with the NERV CO first on his day planner. Misato certainly wasn't lying about how militarized NERV had become. Shinji had to wear his ID badge on his belt at all times, which he had been reminded repeatedly to do since arriving at NERV earlier that day. Just getting in through the front door required a full security clearance and almost every major location had at least one guard posted. Shinji had been told numerous times that it was for the sake of security but…somehow he still didn't feel safe within these narrow corridors. Perhaps it was just his mind playing tricks on him.

Shinji couldn't help but be curious as he thought about the first item on his schedule. He had met Kyo's father once many years ago but it was so brief that Shinji didn't say much more than a 'hello' to him. There was a definite feeling of relief that NERV had a commander that Shinji could be on decent terms with - somebody who didn't fill him with a mixture of anger and frustration every time he saw them. However, this new commander wouldn't be without problems either. Being Kyo's best friend put Shinji in a precarious position or at least that's the conclusion his often-pessimistic mind jumped to. Why did he always have to be the one put in awkward positions?

After some time…or several times, Shinji found his way up to the office of the base commander – Colonel Daisuke Musashi. Shinji recognized the doorway instantly; it was his father's old office. Four years may have passed but the memories of the events that transpired during his first time at NERV were still just as fresh on his mind as the day they happened. His father's cold, disapproving glare still burnt at hole into his skull just thinking about it. Quickly shaking such negative thoughts out of his head, Shinji reminded himself that things had changed…things weren't going to be as bad this time around.

"You coming in or not?" A voice called out from the other side of the door, snapping Shinji back to reality. For a second, Shinji didn't know if the voice was calling out to him until he looked up and saw a security camera gazing down upon him. The friendly reminder was enough to get Shinji over his initial doubts and he headed on his way in. The office itself had been completely changed from how Shinji remembered it four years ago. Finely-stained hardwood panels covered the floor and ceiling, smooth coats of a gentle, eggshell white coated newly installed walls, and new furniture now adorned the office. It was no longer the cold, empty chambers that it used to be – it felt…inviting now with a hint of traditional, Western décor. If Shinji had a better understanding of Colonel Musashi, the choice of décor shouldn't be too surprising. By far Daisuke was not the cold, distant leader who said one thing but thought another. He was far more open, upfront, and down to earth. The difference between Gendo Ikari and Daisuke Musashi was that Musashi was an officer – he knew what was needed in a leader and he knew how to act like one. Duty, justice, and dedicated guided his every action, which made him a soldier's general…and somebody the UN knew they could keep control over.

"It's a good thing the architects double-checked the acoustics for this office or I would really have to shout," Musashi remarked as he motioned for Shinji to come up to the desk at the far end of the office. Providing backdrop to the office was a vast mural depicting the landscape of Tokyo-3, almost as if serving as a constant reminder to Musashi and all who entered the office their purpose as members of NERV. "It's nice to see you again Shinji Ikari – you've certainly grown a fair bit since the last time I laid eyes upon you."

"Thank you sir," Shinji replied politely, not quite sure how to respond to such statements. It was hard to act in a friendlier manner when he barely knew the man. Politeness to his commanding officer overrode any familiarity between them. "If you don't mind me asking sir, what's with all these initiation things? Is it really necessary?"

"Only to make my bosses happy," Musashi answered frankly. "NERV is still in a bit of a probation period so I'd rather just do what they ask for the time being. Really, it's just an opportunity for you to get re-familiarized with the protocols and introduce you to the people you're going to be dealing a lot." It was reasonable explanation to say the least, one that satisfied Shinji's curiosity for the time being.

"Though I doubt you'll give me a straight answer, why exactly has NERV been restarted? This is an exceptionally expensive operation – one that wouldn't be restarted unless there was an immediate benefit to it." Shinji already knew that there was going to be a new threat for a number of years now. This was merely a test to see just how much this new commander would tell Shinji right off the bat. He wanted to know what kind of commanding officer he should expect.

"Straight to the point, eh? I suppose I shouldn't expect any less from an Ikari," Musashi replied, mostly as an aside. "I'll be going over those details more thoroughly in a briefing with you and the other pilots tomorrow but I suppose you do deserve some answers. To put it simply – the UN believes there's another threat on its way. We're not exactly sure what or how much longer we have to prepare but our sources suggest that it'll be soon."

"I hope we're not protecting something that we shouldn't have in the first place," Shinji remarked, referring to the reasons why the Angels converged on Tokyo-3 four years ago. "I can't help but shake the feeling that the UN has other reasons for starting up NERV."

"I have no doubt that they do. Unfortunately, I don't know what those reasons might be and until we can prove otherwise, we have to continue with our current mission. If there is a threat to humanity, we shall confront it and we shall destroy it before it can do more damage. NERV is…going to be held back a lot more this time around. We're not going to have the resources and pulling power with the local governments like we did before. I hope you are prepared to give it your all just like before."

"Sometimes I don't think I have much of a choice in this matter," Shinji sighed lightly. "Somebody's got to play hero…"

"We're trying to recruit new pilots but right now I need people with experience in case things get ugly quickly. If it were up to me Shinji, I would prefer to have you on the sidelines as much as possible…I can only imagine how difficult the last campaign was for you."

"Don't remind me…" Shinji groaned. He wasn't the only one who lost a lot four years ago. Asuka, Rei, and Misato went through their own fair share of torment. They all sacrificed a lot for NERV and if it weren't for a particularly apparition Shinji would be sitting on the sidelines. The fact that all of them were willing to go through hell again was just a testament to their resolve. Who knew Shinji had a bit of a backbone. Well, he did have four years to stew over his choices. "I can handle it though, so don't concern yourself over me."

"You trying to convince me or yourself?" Musashi mused as he leaned back in his chair. A powerful silence overtook the room for the next thirty seconds – a half-minute that seemed to stretch on for eternity.

"Why'd you summon me here?" Shinji finally asked, completely dismissing the Colonel's previous inquiry.

"I assumed you'd have some questions…plus there was something I wanted to give you," he explained as he opened a desk drawer and pulled a small container out of it. "As part of its investigation, the UN had everything belonging to your father confiscated. They said they would conduct a full and painstaking investigation into everything your father had and was planning to do. I figure once the investigation is over they'll conveniently 'lose' all of it in one of their evidence lockers. I managed to save this though. I know your relationship with your father was…tense at best but I didn't feel right getting rid of it until I knew whether you wanted it or not." Shinji was speechless at first as he watched the Colonel slide the small container across the desk for Shinji to see more closely. It appeared like a container of some sort but when Shinji opened up the lid, he discovered a single pair of wire-framed, tinted glasses inside. How fitting…

Shinji remembered the time when he saw a similar pair of glasses kept in Rei's room. Funny how after everything his father did, the only thing left to remember him by was a pair of tinted glasses. Shinji honestly didn't know what possessed him but he closed the container and took it. At least now he could say he had something of his family…even if it was loaded with bad memories. Even bad memories could serve a purpose in life, if just to remind Shinji of what not to do.

"Was that everything?"

"That's all, you're dismissed."

"Thank you," Shinji bowed his head respectfully before getting up to leave.

"Wait…there was something I wanted to ask you," Musashi interrupted when Shinji was halfway to the exit. "How…is Kyo doing?"

"He's fine."

"Is he happy with how things are?"

"You could ask him yourself."

"You should know he wouldn't give me a straight answer."

"I doubt he'd let me know if he wasn't happy either. He never lets people know when he's sad or depressed. I…think he misses you a fair bit Colonel. I think he came to Tokyo-3 because he wanted to be near you again."

"It's probably a little late for happy family reunions."

"Only if you choose to let it be."

---------------------

"Can't believe I have to prove I can run just so I can pilot their stupid Evas," Asuka grumbled under her breath for the hundredth time in the past five minutes, straightening out the simple white t-shirt that had been provided for her. She hadn't had to wear a tracksuit like this since her days back at high school four years ago. If she had known she'd be running, she would've brought her tracksuit from home. "Of all the indignant, menial tasks they could've thrown on me…" The NERV facility had a newly installed fitness center, which apparently included a circular track. Four years ago Asuka wouldn't have given a second thought to such a place but in her maturing age, she figured having a gym at her workplace would be of great use in the future.

The fitness center was, like everything else at NERV, a pinnacle of technological advancements. The circular track she had been told about was actually a giant ring that formed a sort of halo over the structure. Upon entering the structure, Asuka immediately understood why it had been advertised to her as an 'all encompassing' fitness center. They literally had everything…or at least that's what the large building map that greeted her said. The lower floors housed the larger facilities including swimming pools, courtyards, and physiotherapy center, while the upper floors housed the more traditional exercise equipment. NERV certainly went all-out when it came to keeping its staff happy. At the moment, with NERV still having only about half of its desired staff, the fitness center was sparsely populated.

"Are you Asuka Langley Soryu?" A young, female receptionist at the front desk asked immediately upon noticing the teen's arrival.

"Um, yeah. How do I get to the track from here?"

"Just take the main elevator to the top floor," she explained, motioning towards a nearby hallway. "He's already waiting for you at the top."

"Thanks." Asuka tried to remain as courteous as possible despite her frustrations with her current situation.

"Don't worry, it gets better," the receptionist added as Asuka headed on her way. The rather cryptic message left Asuka puzzled for a bit, though it was clear that the receptionist caught Asuka's annoyed undertone. On the elevator ride up, Asuka tried to wrap her mind around what the receptionist had been referring to but couldn't think of anything that would alleviate the irritation of having to run around a track like some sort of guinea pig.

The circular track had, arguably, one of the magnificent views around. With a wide, padded track encased within a circular glass tube, one could see all across the geofront as did your laps around the track. The view of the geofront wasn't what caught Asuka's attention though, rather it was the young man that was had been waiting for her.

"Sweet hallelujah…"

It was the first time that Asuka had set eyes upon the young Captain Akira Yamato, who was in the middle of stretching out some of the finest looking muscles that she had ever had the pleasure to see. As a military man, it was no surprise that Akira made sure to stay in the best of physical condition and while he might not be bulging with muscles like some body-builders, he had that fine balance that conveyed the message that while he kept fit, it wasn't the focus of his life. Now the receptionist made sense.

The closing elevators doors quickly snapped Asuka's attention back to the real world and reminded her that she had to actually get out of the lift. Her hurried rush to get out of the way of the closing doors caught the attention of the awaiting officer. "Ah, you're here at last," he greeted and motioned for Asuka to join him on the track. "I'm Captain Akira Yamato, your new Chief of Operations."

"Well, it's nice to meet you captain." It wasn't too surprising that Asuka could still easily put on the 'nice girl' routine when around new people. With everybody she already knew betting more Shinji as favourite, Asuka needed to woo some of the newer members of NERV to her camp. One could never have too many supporters. She felt anybody who could remember her previous performances wouldn't give her the same vote of confidence a new person would. She needed somebody who would believe in her abilities…cause lord knows it was difficult just believing in herself during those last months at NERV.

"I've read and heard quite a bit about you Asuka," Akira commented as the two walked down one of the catwalks that connected the central hub to the actual track. She didn't like the sound of that, unfortunately, since that meant Akira knew about her lack-luster performance record. "I was very impressed by your accomplishments."

"You're what?"

"Impressed. You know, bestowing a sense of admiration in another person. I figured a person with your record would be used to compliments like that."

"Oh, I am. I get them all the time." Asuka did her best to recover after what she saw as an idiotic response to something she shouldn't have been surprised by. "It's just been a while since somebody's complimented me for what I did at NERV…usually it's on things like PhD thesis."

"You're a dedicated pilot with a strong desire to get the job done. You're well trained, professional, and determined. There's not a whole lot more I can ask for really." When they reached the track, Akira took a moment to address her further before getting down to the purpose of the meeting. "We're going to be training you even harder this time around, I hope you're prepared for that."

"I was born prepared," Asuka replied firmly.

"Good, now we've got six laps ahead of us – I hope you can keep up." Akira smirked at the end before motioning for Asuka to follow along as he started around the track. Akira didn't go very fast so it was easy for Asuka to keep pace with him, though it looked as though Akira wasn't even going to break a sweat at his current pace. Asuka figured he could probably go a half-mile flat-out without even winding himself.

"Not to sound like I'm complaining, but why the heck do we need to do this anyways? I'm piloting an Eva, not running a marathon."

"NERV is a military group now. We have to enforce a minimum level of physical fitness for everybody with a combat purpose. Just be thankful that we didn't make military enlistment mandatory, otherwise you'd really have to prove your mettle. Six laps should be a walk in the park for somebody your age." He did have a point with the 'walk in a park' part. Asuka could handle a few laps easily…though she wondered how Shinji would handle the endurance test. Shinji would probably be crushed like an ant if he had to take the full military fitness test. Four years later he was still skinny like a rail…probably would lose an arm wrestling match with Pen Pen. "I know this is a rather off-topic subject but…why would an obviously intellectually gifted person like you want to get caught up in an ugly like this?"

"You mean why I became an Eva pilot?"

"I suppose that would be an simpler way of putting it."

"I've never really given it much thought. It's sort of been one of those things I knew I was going to do for a long time. I got put onto this path when I was young and I've never really had any interest in changing things. Nothing else has really struck much of an interest to me, not after you've been behind the controls of an Eva."

"I suppose that was sort of a stupid question. I joined the military cause I was never really that great when it came to books and academics. I figured a military life would be the best way to earn a living doing things I was good at. Then it turned out that I was pretty good at military life. I was offered Chief of Operations because Colonel Musashi felt I'd be the least likely to be a UN stooge compared to all the other choices."

"I take the Colonel doesn't quite trust the UN to let him handle things?"

"The UN has Colonel Musashi on a very short rope. The UN wants to trust Musashi but they've just put him into a position of extraordinary responsibility and power. They're worried that something, or someone, will…motivate Musashi to walk down a similar path that Gendo Ikari did. As a result, Musashi's become a little paranoid that every action of his is being scrutinized and watched over. He wants people he knows he can trust…people he know that will think more objectively than either the UN or himself. He wants the priority to be the defense of the city and humanity and nothing else. That's partly why he also wanted you and the other pilots back – it's not just the experience but past records have shown that you do what is right rather than what others tell you. If things ever progress to the hellish state like the last NERV, Musashi knows he can count on you and the others to make the right calls for humanity."

"I also recall almost being killed."

"Well…the things that are most important to us are not the things worth living for, it's the things worth dying for."

"I don't know about you but I don't intend on dying any time soon or for anything in particular. I was thinking maybe in my sleep when I'm old and grey but that's kind of several decades ahead of me." The topic of death was not one that Asuka was particularly comfortable with but tried not to let it show as the conversation carried on. The last thing she wanted to come off as was somebody who was scared of death.

"I try not to think about that. I have a job to focus on after all and if I don't do it right, a lot of people could wind up dying."

"I'll try not to let that happen," Asuka smugly replied.

"Piloting an Eva is not a one-person process Miss Soryu. You're just one piece, albeit an important one, in a huge, combined effort that one can just barely fathom. When you sit behind the controls of an Eva, you're carrying with you all the work, effort, and hopes of hundreds upon hundreds of people."

It was a sobering thought for Asuka. There were times that she forgot just how large of an organization NERV was. It spanned across the major nations of the world, encompassing a half-dozen different bases and facilities similar to the ones at the Tokyo-3 Geofront. The Evangelions embodied more than just the innovation and ingenuity of humanity, but all its hopes and dreams for a future as well.

No pressure or anything.

Yup – no pressure at all.


	11. Chapter 10: Destiny's Child

**Chapter Ten: Destiny's Child**

"Could you cover your left eye and read the third line from the top."

"A…X…P…G…E…M…N."

"Looks like your eyes are working fine," the young, female doctor commented as she flashed a small like in Rei's left eye. While Dr. Yamashiro's expertise was in neurology, her new duties at NERV required her to expand her usual practices and brush up on fields that she normally didn't touch. Optometry, for example, wasn't something she normally would, or even should, practice on a patient but NERV didn't need a specialist, just somebody would could ensure that the pilots could see well enough to fight. "I've never really seen somebody with red iris before…aside from one or two albinos."

Rei sat on the edge of the examining bed inside the small examination room where Dr. Ayane Yamashiro had been doing a routine check-up on the First Child for the past twenty minutes. Each of the pilots were required to pass a basic physical check-up since there was a four year gap in their NERV medical records in which a number of problems could've arisen. Compared to Dr. Akagi, Dr. Yamashiro wasn't much of a change in professional mannerisms – quick, efficient, and straight to the point. Ayane was also far less talkative compared to Ritsuko; the only times she spoke was when asking medical questions, giving explanations or instructions, or commenting on results. In fact, Ayane's remark about Rei's eyes was probably the tangential statement made during the entire visit. Perhaps the lack of communication was simply due to a lack of familiarity between the two. Rei didn't mind the absence of idle chit-chat; in the past it was mostly just Akagi doing the talking so there was little change of routine even four years later.

"Ever experience any vision problems, particularly when out in the sun?" Ayane continued to question as she shone a light in Rei's left eye now.

"No."

It was unlikely that Rei had any degree of albinism then. Typically, the red iris of an albino was a result of a lack of pigmentation in the iris but in Rei's case it seemed there was pigmentation and it was actually producing the red tone. Vision problems were typically, especially since light could penetrate through the iris and produce blurred images on the retinas, plus there was an increase in UV exposure to the photosensitive retinal layer. Needless to say, NERV didn't want their pilots losing their eyesight when they were still needed. "Red is kind of a neat colour to have I suppose."

"I don't like red."

"Ever give contact lenses a try? I could get you a set of coloured lenses that would provide some UV protection and give you a more favourable colour." Rei took her time to think about the offer while Dr. Yamashiro continued with the routine check-up. Perhaps a bit of a change would be good for her. Rei could think of numerous occasions where she expressed her dislike of those red eyes of hers. They weren't going to ever go away, though, so she never really gave the issue much more thought than for just a passing moment. The main question, though, was whether it was worth the effort just so she would look a little different. Rei wasn't the kind of person to be concerned about her appearance after all. Her train of thought was running so deep that she barely even noticed when Dr. Yamashiro drew a blood sample.

"What would be needed if I were to get these lenses?"

"Well since you don't need a prescription for them all we'd need to do is get some samples for you to try on. I can have them in by the end of the week if you are interested," Ayane explained, sitting down in her swivel chair and wheeling over to the other side of the room. A number of open charts lay on a nearby counter, one with her list of orders and the others being Rei's old medical files. "Now you should be up-to-date with all your immunizations, no need for any radiography, and I'm going to assume you're probably not pregnant."

"Why would you assume that?"

"Intuition really. Is there a chance of that?"

"No."

"Then what's the problem? Anyways, NERV would prefer if you didn't get pregnant during your active tour of duty. You health plan covers all forms of contraceptives on the market so feel free to help yourself if you do. Because of the dangers of your job, we don't have a maternity leave program for the pilots – we will simply ask you to resign your position. They probably wouldn't want to send in a new mother to pilot either." After pulling out a number of papers from a file folder, she handed several sheets to Rei. "Here's a bunch of medical legal documents explaining that you understand what we've discussed here and you agree to the medical and health policies at NERV. You can just sign them at your leisure and hand them into the administration wing."

"Okay," Rei simply replied as she took the papers and briefly looked over them.

"So…I heard you're thinking of doing meta-biology at the university."

"I am."

"I do a bunch of guest lectures for the university on that subject. You thinking of doing practical or research?"

"I was thinking…research. Why are you asking this?"

"Cause my under-graduate was meta-biology. I was thinking of going into research if getting into medicine didn't work out for me. As you can tell, it worked out very well. You'll really enjoy it." Ayane wasn't going to comment on it right now, since she wasn't completely certain of it, but she saw a fair deal of herself in young Rei. In fact, they shared a number of things in common – both were quiet, straight to the point, dedicated and dutiful, and had an interest in meta-biology. They might have been only a few points of similarity but Rei realized them too. It would…make understanding each other a little easier and since Rei was the most prone to getting injured out of the three pilots, it was likely that she would be seeing a lot of Dr. Yamashiro in the future. Scribbling down a few last notes in the new medical charts, Ayane drew this meeting to a close. "You've got a clean bill of health miss Ayanami. Hopefully, I won't be opening this chart any time soon."

"Thank you Dr. Yamashiro."

---------------------

"A part of me had hoped that I'd never have to look at this sight again," Shinji sighed lightly to himself as he gazed through the giant pane of glass that overlooked the maintenance wing. On the far side of the room, the Evangelion Unit-01 was being refitted and upgraded by the dozen of new mechanics and techs of the NERV organization. Shinji came in just as the crews began the process of fitting on a new model shoulder fin, which on the outside looked the same as the old model but Shinji had been told improvements had been made. Massive ceiling-mounted cranes hoisted the unit above the bare shoulder, preparing to position the shoulder fin once the mechanics were ready for it. "But on the other hand, a part of me knew this was bound to happen…like I was meant for this."

"Things are going to be different this time around – there's not going to be any secrets or mysteries around here. We know what we're working with this time around," Lt. Ibuki replied as she stood alongside Shinji. "Felt like yesterday we were just rolling Unit-01 off the production line though."

"Will it even work after all these years?"

"In theory it should. After four years, though, you've physiology has changed quite a bit. Your hormone levels are different, your body composition, the physical wiring of your brain…you're a lot taller as well."

"Heh, yeah. I guess I'm going to need a new size plug suit now," Shinji chuckled a little embarrassed. Back when he first came to NERV, he and Maya were roughly the same height, now he was a fair bit taller than her, along with most of the female members of NERV. Considering how taller his father was, though, it didn't come as much of a surprise. There were bound to be complications with re-synchronizing the Evas after so many years of inactivity. Shinji and the others had matured a lot in the past four years. There was a good chance that the Evas might not recognize all of them. Shinji, however, knew he wouldn't have been sent down this path if he weren't going to be able to pilot his Eva. He probably would be at a bit more ease if Rei and Asuka weren't able to pilot – it'd give him less to worry about. "What kind of changes have you made to the Evas anyways?"

"For the most part we've improved the overall capabilities of the Evas. They're fitted with stronger armour and we have new weaponry prepared for them. Internally we've improved the handling and response times along with marginal improvements with synch ratios. For Eva-00 and Eva-02, Dr. Washington's new energy systems have improved battery life substantially and we've improved the durability and efficiency of the umbilical cables. Eva-01 has received those improvements as well just…you know, just in case not everything works when you first operate it."

"I'm sure Dr. Akagi would be proud of these new upgrades," Shinji remarked, eliciting a small, bashful smile from Maya. She missed her friend a great deal…continuing her work was, in a way, helping Maya feel closer to Ritsuko.

"I think so too. It'd probably make her happy to see her work being in such good hands. Dr. Washington could've really give Dr. Akagi a run for her money. He might not have been able to create the Evas but the improvements he's completed are nothing short of spectacular. I just wished he would continue his work on creating an artificial S2 organ."

"I remember that – didn't the prototype explode and wipe out the Nevada base?"

"That's right. I can't imagine how hard it must've been for Dr. Washington to keep working after hearing that news. He used to be one of the best – full of initiative, dedication, and enthusiasm. He did his work with a passion that was unrivaled by almost everyone in his field and with such genius that his peers could only stand back and watch in awe. After the loss of the Nevada branch, they say that Dr. Washington lost almost all his confidence and dedication…they say that he's only working for NERV because he's the only one who can take up Ritsuko's work."

Needless to say, it was a fairly sad story for Shinji to listen to. He could only imagine the kind of guilt a person would feel after learning that their experiment cost hundreds of lives. Nearly taking the life of one of his closest friends was morally crushing for Shinji…Dr. Washington had hundred of his co-workers hanging over him. The fact that Washington was still willing to keep working afterwards was a testament to what dedication he had left, even if he was just a sullen shell of the man he used to be.

"You know, most people would consider it rude to talk about people behind their backs," a new voice spoke up, causing Maya to freeze on the spot. A quick glance over his shoulder and Shinji quickly figured out that the tall, middle-aged man that stood behind him was none other than Dr. Joseph Washington. Despite what most would have considered a stern remark, the doctor merely had a smug smirk across his face as he watched Maya tried to hide the crimson tint of her cheeks. Before she could even squeak out an apology, a light-hearted chuckle from the doctor dispelled all concerns. "Of course, if I didn't want to people talking about me when I wasn't around, I wouldn't have become such a famous scientist." Maya could only manage a sigh of relief at the good news. "The next batch of simulation data should be finishing up in the next ten minutes, could you run down to the guys at the lab and pick it up for me Lieutenant?"

"Of course doctor," Maya nodded politely before excusing herself. She appreciated the excuse to make a quick exit, which was really why the doctor asked the favour of her in the first place.

"You must be the Third Child I've heard so much about," Dr. Washington greeted the young pilot with an outstretched hand. Shinji nodded to confirm as he shook the doctor's hand.

"I'm afraid I can't say quite the same about you doctor. All I've heard was what Lt. Ibuki told me."

"Indeed. The plights of Dr. Joseph Washington seem to be all the talk around the water cooler these days," Joseph replied as he stepped up to the window to watch the mechanic teams at work. "Hard to believe that they're willing to trust me with another one of these…"

"They trust you because they know you do good work," Shinji answered, fruitlessly trying to console a man who had heard every form of sympathy the human mind could muster. Nothing Shinji could say would ever alleviate the guilt that burdened Joseph…this wasn't something words could fix. "Lt. Ibuki also told me about the new upgrades you've been fitting the Evas with. I know I'll wind up being grateful for the work you've done here."

"Bah. Half of the work was just picking up stuff that Dr. Akagi hadn't gotten around to finishing and the rest of child's play for any average scientist. They just picked me cause they know I'll bend over and take whatever crap they want to shovel to me. Besides, if trouble does come it's the person behind the controls that'll make the difference in the end, not what he's controlling." Shinji noted that Joseph was an overly modest man…perhaps too critical of his own problems and too willing to give credit to other people. It was a trait that made him a good person…but likely to go unnoticed in the real world. It was probably only because of his groundbreaking work that he's gotten the recognition and fame he does now.

"Have you ever thought of trying to continue your work?"

"Only every day of my life. A lot of scientists don't let disasters stand in their way but when your work results in such…could we not talk about this actually? I'm sure you can understand that it's not a favourite subject of mind."

"Oh, of course. I'm sorry I brought it up."

"It's okay. People are curious. People always want to know. We're always reaching to the future…ever wonder how long it'll be before we wind up opening Pandora's box?"

"Some might argue that we already have."

"And these things...this place, is that small beam of hope at the bottom of the box." There was a long pause of silence between the two, trying not to think too much of the subject they had just briefly discussed. They focused their thoughts and attention to the construction work ahead of them, where mechanic crews had just began attaching the new shoulder unit to Eva-01. "You've got a lot of responsibilities now Mr. Ikari, more so than you ever did before. I'm sure you've heard it before but you'll be handling the greatest achievements that mankind will probably ever produce."

"Oddly enough, not many people have said that to me. When I first started, they made it feel more like a obligation than a privilege. I suppose I should, in some way, feel honoured to be allowed to partake in this operation."

"Take these wings and soar into the horizon," Joseph mused somewhat cryptically. "And try not to fly too close to the sun."

---------------------

"Christ, I thought that day would never end," Asuka groaned in exhaustion as the three pilots finally returned to the comfort and solitude of their shared condo. Asuka immediately flopped down on the couch with a heavy sigh of relief and made herself at home on the soft cushions.

"Tomorrows probably going to be just as long," Shinji added as he headed into the kitchen to fetch a drink. "The Colonel said there was a briefing on our mission tomorrow and we have to be there on time."

"Class also starts tomorrow," Rei informed him as he entered the kitchen shortly after him. While Shinji was content with a glass of water, Rei put the kettle on so that she could make some tea later. With Shinji planning to major in life sciences and Rei doing meta-biology, there was little chance that the two were going to be sharing any classes together. Kyo aimed for engineering so there definitely was no chance in sharing a class with him. Then there was Asuka, who had yet to even explain what she was going to be doing at the university. Every time that Shinji planned on bringing the subject up, Asuka managed to drag the conversation in a completely different direction. Considering she had a PhD, she was probably going into a research position at the university…then again, Shinji wasn't even quite sure what her PhD was in. It was yet another thing that Shinji had been meaning to ask and never got around to.

"I just have an introductory physics and chemistry lecture tomorrow. I hope they're not too bad," Shinji commented as he got some water from the sink.

"I think I have introductory physics as well, along with three different biology lectures."

"Ouch. Well, if anybody can handle that course load, I'm sure it's you."

"Would you care for some tea?"

"Sure. Call me when it's done." Shinji was planning on retiring to his room for the remainder of the evening; perhaps he'd get his books together for his lectures tomorrow and figure out where he had to go for each lecture. School might not have started yet but Shinji was already beginning to feel the free time in his life slip away from him. Unless another citywide mass evacuation was ordered, Shinji figured most of his free time was going to be spent either at the university or at NERV. Somehow, he doubted that humanity would one day thank him for his selflessness.

Shutting his bedroom door behind him, Shinji wondered what life in university would be like. The details given to him by Asuka during their many long-distance phone calls had revealed little about the life beyond high school. He figured that Asuka's lack of explanation was simply because she didn't quite know herself. The disadvantage of going to university at such an early age was that most of the life was catered to people far older than her and therefore she missed out on a number of the university experiences. "At least this beats being the last man on earth," he muttered softly to himself.

"Well some would say being the father of the new human race would be a tremendous honour."

"Gah!" The sudden presence of the shady apparition, Nanashi, startled the young pilot, causing him to lose his grip on his glass. However, the glass only fell a few feet before it suddenly stopped, water and all, in mid-air; it hovered on the spot for a few seconds before floating right back up for Shinji to take hold again.

"I'd recommend you try not to make too much noise Shinji. Otherwise, your friends might think you're losing your mind," Nanashi remarked with one hand extended towards the glass. Obviously, the apparition was responsible for the phenomenon. "It's been a long time since we've last had a chance to talk."

"No kidding, I was starting to think I was losing my mind," Shinji answered as he took the glass back and headed over to his desk chair. He made sure his voice was kept quiet, as to not alert the people just down the hall. "Where have you been anyways?"

"The possible interference of other parties necessitates that I maintain a low profile. I had to keep quiet and ensure that all was safe before I could contact you again. I am sure that you have already been contacted by these other parties."

Shinji recalled how the gold and crimson apparitions warned him not to make any mention of the contact made between them. However, if Nanashi was already aware of the outside interference, then what harm could come from it? Nonetheless, he was reluctant to acknowledge Nanashi's suspicions.

"You don't need to admit it to me. I had anticipated their arrivals long before I contacted you. The choice of whose wishes you follow is up to you and I won't hold it against you if you decide to follow one of the others. However, I must implore you that they are merely agents serving their own purposes and their arms are purely for their own interests, not yours or humanity's." Personally, Shinji didn't know whom to believe anymore. All of them called the others liars or self-serving agents. For the time being, Shinji was just holding his judgment and acting on each situation as they approached.

"You know, you haven't even told me what you want me to do here. Why did you want me to come back to Tokyo-3 in the first place?"

"I assume you've already been told of a being dubbed 'The Thirteenth'." Once again Shinji was reluctant to confirm details that would verify the original suspicion of outside contact, so Shinji chose to remain silent for now. "Somewhere in this city is the Thirteenth, who's taken the form of a regular human being. However, the Thirteenth is a being of tremendous power and potential and right now these outside parties are targeting that power. You can't let either have it Shinji, otherwise your mission here will be a failure and humanity will eventually return to the state that you remember it…or even worse. You have to find the Thirteenth Shinji…and you have to destroy it."

"Destroy? Why? Is this Thirteenth dangerous?"

"More than you can possibly imagine. The Thirteenth has the power to create a Third Impact. That alone is the reason you must destroy it."

"Okay…you wouldn't happen to know any way I can find this so-called 'Thirteenth'?"

"Even if I did, I would be reluctant to tell you. This is no small task Shinji – you will only have one shot at accomplishing your mission and if you don't take it, I guarantee you that you will fail. The Thirteenth is in hiding because those outside parties will find him if they so much as catch a glimpse of its true form. There will be a great deal of obstacles standing in your way as well...needless to say, your integrity and the resolve of humanity will be put to the test over the next several months. You will need to be patient and discrete in your search – but have faith that when the time comes, you will be ready for it."

"I guess it was too much to assume that this would be a walk in the park," Shinji sighed lightly.

"I will assist as best I can Shinji but I can't do much more than provide information. To interfere directly will gather…unwanted attention to myself. Even my presence now is a risk to this mission." At least Shinji wasn't going to be heading up against his new enemies completely in the dark. Nanashi might be able to shed some light on what 'evil' awaits him the future. Before Shinji could ask about it, though, another interruption came.

"Shinji, the tea's ready for you," Rei's voice called out from the hallway.

"Be there in a second," Shinji replied, glancing to the door for a second to make sure he wasn't going to get an unwanted visitor. However, when he looked back to where Nanashi was standing beforehand, he found the room to be empty once again. Perhaps it was for the best that Shinji was allowed to return to his life – there was enough on his plate to worry about already.


	12. Chapter 11: Welcome to Higher Learning

**Chapter Eleven: Welcome to Higher Learning**

"Man, I haven't had to wake up at this hour in a long time," Shinji groaned quietly as he rested his head on his hand and leaning up against the car door. Though his class wasn't for about another hour, Asuka, and thus the car, had to be at the university a lot earlier than he did. As a result, it was either take the early ride or find his own way to the university campus. He was tempted to talk to Misato about getting a ride but quickly recalling her driving skills, Shinji preferred to take the method that held the greater probability of reaching the campus in one piece.

"You have these lectures three times a week Shinji, all of them at this hour so you better get used to it quickly cause I don't like listening to complaining at eight o'clock in the morning," Asuka remarked sternly after climbing into the driver's seat of the mid-sized sedan that she drove. Rei sat alone silently in the back seat, as Kyo was the only person not required to be at the university at this hour. He wasn't luck though as he had classes starting at eleven and wouldn't be back home until six…and today was a good day by his standards. "And if anybody tries to complain about my driving, they get to walk."

Unfortunately for Shinji, Asuka's driving skills took a fair after Misato's abilities behind the wheel…though perhaps even more reckless with the addition of youth into the equation. Only because he knew Asuka was fully capable of carrying out the earlier threat did he keep his mouth shut when she zipped out of the parking garage and took off down the road going at a fair margin above the speed limit.

"So are you going to pick us up for the meeting with Colonel Musashi this afternoon or are we going to have take the train?" Shinji finally asked after several minutes of having to listen to some random radio station that was playing the kind of music that Shinji particularly disliked.

"I'll drive you…just stop by my office at one o'clock and we'll head there together," Asuka answered, maintaining a new level of professionalism that Shinji was rather impressed by. Had the years maturing in Germany helped in creating a more stable, levelheaded girl? "Hey! That bastard just cut me off! Who the &# taught you how to drive?" Or maybe she's gotten worse. Shinji was just thankful Asuka was too busy keeping her eyes on the road to notice him rolling his eyes in dismay at her mannerisms. Some things never changed.

Gazing out of the window, Shinji watched the world whip past him at high speeds. He could still remember vividly the numerous times he walked up and down these sidewalks on his way to and from high school. He wish he could say things were simpler back then and he had a feeling that things would never get quite that complicated ever again. All he had to do this time around was find this so-called 'Thirteenth' and destroy him…or protect him. Okay…so things were still complicated but at least he didn't have to worry about any secret plans by the NERV Supreme Commander…or he hoped he wouldn't. Shinji sighed as he realized his life was probably going to be fairly complicated in the months to come and he wished that he could talk about it to Rei or Kyo but…he didn't know if anybody would believe him. It wasn't like he had any evidence to prove these weren't just hallucinations.

A red light forced the car to come to a halt, coincidentally directly in front of their old high school. All three of them looked over at the old schoolyard for a moment – watching the students mingling in the courtyards and along the sidewalks. Even though he had only spent a short time as a student of that school, it still felt like such a significant part of his life. All of them had important memories tied to that building and it was sort of sad that they couldn't be there to graduate alongside their classmates. Well…Shinji was probably the only one that cared since Asuka was already a college graduate when she arrived at the school and Rei just…didn't really care about it at all. Care was not a word she used a lot in her life except in the negative context.

"Seems so small now doesn't it?" Asuka remarked quietly.

"I wonder if our teacher still works there," Shinji added.

"Probably – and he's probably giving the same lectures as before too." God…Shinji hoped that his professors wouldn't be so boring as that teacher was. When the light turned green, the car took off and the school became a distant memory for all of them. They began to travel into a part of the city that Shinji was a little less familiar with so his eyes drifted away from the scenery fell onto the car's side mirror. It was angled just right that he could see the passenger in the seat behind him. Rei had her trademark indifferent look on her face as she continued staring out the window at the passing world…how she could always stay so calm despite everything happening around her was a mystery. Some people found it almost…creepy but Shinji had grown to admire her levelheaded mindset. He could always count on her to be able to take charge of a situation, no matter how drastic it got. Unfortunately, that trait also reminded him of his stoic, always-in-control father. It was to be expected since Rei had spent so much time around him before even meeting Shinji.

After a while of watching Rei in the side view mirror, the young girl noticed the set of eyes upon her. Her crimson eyes glanced to the mirror and through it the two teenagers made eye contact for a brief moment before both quickly averted their gaze.

Shinji wondered how long would it be before even Asuka started giving him grief about his indecisiveness…

---------------------

Asuka had dropped off Shinji and Rei at the main campus of the University of Tokyo-3 before taking off to go to wherever the hell her office was located. Since they never got a good opportunity to tour the campus, Shinji and Rei figured the free hour they have could be spent well by taking a walk around the campus to get an idea of where each building was. Shinji liked the idea since he already had enough to memorize with NERV's new building layout already taking up most of his memory, plus it presented an ideal opportunity for the two of them to spend some time together. The past few days had presented few opportunities for the two to share a moment in peace.

The fall weather was a little cooler than usual on the early September morning. Shinji wore a simple gray leather coat over his usual buttoned-down shirt and black trousers, while Rei, who had stopped wearing the usual blue-skirt-and-vest uniform since she graduated, wore a long black skirt with warm, white sweater. Unfortunately, as determined as Shinji and Rei were to get a good walk around the campus, after about ten minutes of being out in the cold air they both agreed to take shelter in the atrium of the closest building and warm up for a bit.

"Maybe we should just get a map from the school's website," Shinji sighed softly as he let out a few heavy breaths into his clasped hands in an attempt to warm them up.

"It should be warmer by the afternoon," Rei answered, not fully ready to give up on the idea, just postponing it.

"So uh, I never got a chance to ask yesterday but what was your take on all the new people at work?" Shinji asked, desperately trying to start a conversation he knew she would reply to, while at the same time not saying any government-sensitive information aloud.

"They appear to be a competent and capable work force. Miss Katsuragi trusts them…that is sufficient reason for me. I think."

"I guess it is kind of harder for you to trust the boss now that it's not…um, you know…him."

"It will be a bit more difficult but Mr. Musashi has a commendable service record. Kyo certainly does take after his father though."

"Heh, so you noticed that too," Shinji said with a short chuckle. "Maybe it'll be easier for me to trust me this commander, though I can never really shake that bad feeling that things are going to wind up like last time."

"We'll get through this. There won't be any surprises this time," Rei said softly, trying to reassure her friend. Even her words weren't that successful though…nothing would ever shake that feeling from Shinji's mind.

"Let's get off this topic, it's too distracting," Shinji spoke up finally after a long silence. "Would you be interested in meeting for lunch around noon? I know you have a couple more classes than me but if you have the time it'd be a good idea to get something to eat before the meeting – I have a hunch we'll be at work for a while."

"Lunch would be nice," Rei replied, smiling ever so slightly to him.

"Oh crap…" Shinji suddenly muttered in a strange tone of panic.

"Uh…did I say something wrong?" Rei was immediately confused by the sudden change in behavior, especially since it didn't appear he was looking away from her at first glance. A closer looked revealed that he was actually looking past her at something.

"It's Hikari - she's sitting at one of the tables over there," Shinji explained as he subtly motioned Rei's attention to the unmistakable Hikari Horaki, sitting with a newspaper and some big guy who's back was to Shinji and Rei. "I guess I should've expected to see her eventually…"

"You should say hi to her. She's probably wondered where you've been," Rei suggested after glancing momentarily over to the pair.

"I don't know – she's with somebody. I wouldn't want to interrupt something important."

"She's a friend, it's the right thing to do."

"She was Asuka's friend. She only treated me nicely cause she liked Toji."

"Just go."

"Fine…" Shinji didn't see why he should bother. She probably didn't even remember him anymore. Rei was probably only encouraging him cause she knew as well as he did that he needed to get back in touch with his old friends from Tokyo-3, which he hadn't gotten around to yet. His questioning of whether or not she remembered him was quickly answered for as soon as he got within a few meters of the table she spotted him and immediately shot up from the table. She remembered him quite well…much better than Shinji gave credit for.

"Shinji!" Hikari called out before racing over to him, a bright grin plastered across her face from the sight of her old friend. "My god it's been so long, how have you been?"

"Um, hi," Shinji said, just barely scraping together his response after the shock of Hikari's enthusiastic greeting. I've been…good. It's nice to see you again Hikari. I'm not interrupting anything am I?"

"Oh of course not. I was just having morning coffee with Toji and-"

"Toji? T…that's Toji?" Unfortunately, volume control was not one of Shinji's best traits, especially when he was taken by surprise. Upon hearing his name, the tall, wide young man turned his head to see Shinji's nervous smile greeting him. "Christ look at the size of him now, does he live in a gym or something?" Toji was still about three or four inches taller than Shinji but now probably weighed about thirty pounds more, all of which was muscle.

"No, just three buildings down from one," Toji answered as he was already on his way over to greet his old friend. "I'm surprised to see you coming back here. I figured you'd want to get as far away from Tokyo-3 as possible. Still, it's good to see you again buddy." Toji's welcoming was surprisingly warm and sincere, which took Shinji by surprise considering what had happened between the two of them. Toji didn't seem to hold any ill will against Shinji, which was signified by an outstretched hand to him, which Shinji promptly accepted with a mental sigh of relief.

"Yeah…it's really good to see you too," Shinji managed a better response to Toji, much to his own surprise. He was expecting to fall apart into nerves and yet he managed to hold it together.

"If you have the time, why don't you come and sit with us," Hikari invited. "I assume the blue-haired girl over there is Rei."

"Sure, we've got plenty of time to kill," Shinji agreed. It was a shame that Shinji didn't have more time to catch up on old times with Toji and Hikari but now that he knew that they were still in town it would make it easier to keep in touch. Taking seats across from Toji and Hikari, Rei and Shinji made themselves comfortable for a very long conversation.

"While it's great to see you again Shinji, I get the sneaking suspicion that yer not here because of the clean mountain air," Toji remarked, clearly hinting at a more business-related purpose. At least it was good to see that Toji still had his wits about him. Shinji and Rei merely nodded in response, making sure to keep the conversation discrete. "Figures. They must've come up with some really big incentive to get you to come back…or did ya just follow her." A sly smirk slipped across his face at the last part.

"It's not…I mean, I have my reasons," Shinji stammered in response, which made Toji burst out in laughter.

"Ah man you haven't changed a bit," Toji replied as he finally calmed down.

"Well I don't think I can say the same thing for you," Shinji added.

"Yeah, the last few years have been rather eventful," Toji answered, settling into a more serious tone. Everybody's eyes fell briefly on the beige and gray polymers of the prosthetic hand that rested on the table. "You know most people can't even tell I'm missing a leg. It's cool what they can do with prosthetics these days."

"What about your hand?"

"I won't be learning to play piano if that's what you're asking. It works but it's kind of cumbersome, even after all these years. I've broken it about three times too and these things aren't cheap either." Shinji was tempted to make some sort of apology…but it was far too little and way too damn late to matter to Toji. He knew how sorry Shinji was for what happened…and he wasn't going to let that ruin their friendship. "It was hard getting used to them…but I had a lot of help from this girl right here." Hikari couldn't help but blush from the praise as Toji wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close.

"So it would be safe to assume you two are seeing each other."

"That's right," Hikari nodded with her enthusiastic reply. "Sure he can be a little grumpy at times because he can't double-shotgun beers as easily as the next guy but he's such a softie when you really get to know him. Say, have you two tried going out yet? Kensuke said you two had gotten pretty close."

"Uhh…" The two teenagers looked at each other for a brief moment. Neither was certain of what to say in response, worried about how the other might take a definitive answer.

"We're just friends," Rei finally answered, which Shinji was thankful for. Any answer Shinji gave would not only sound half-assed, it would be completely unbelievable regardless of its validity. Even with Rei's calm response, the other two teenagers were not fully convinced of an absence of interest in either party. However, Toji and Hikari were not the type to press for more information – they learned long ago that Rei and Shinji were fairly private people.

"Just friends huh? Can't say I'm not a little disappointed in you Shinji," Toji remarked light-heartedly. "Enough about that topic though. What are you studying here at the U-O-3?"

"I'm doing chemistry…or at least I plan to. Rei is doing meta-biology."

"Ooo, that's a real toughie I hear," Hikari, noticeably impressed, replied. "Well I'm getting into political science and Toji's planning on majoring in history." Shinji couldn't say he was surprised by their choices. Knowing Hikari she'd probably try and get into as much university politics as she can. She seemed to have a knack for it. "I guess we won't really be seeing either of you in class. Oh, I should give you my cell phone number…you know, so we can arrange some sort of reunion. Well…as much of a reunion as we can get. Kensuke won't be able to make it after all."

"You know I haven't heard from Kensuke in a while, what's he been up to?" Shinji asked as the mentioning of his other friend's name triggered his former mental reminders to find answers to that mystery.

"I'll give you three guess on what he did the moment he turned eighteen but you're only going to need one," Toji hinted.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me. He actually went out and signed up for the army?" Shinji replied, to which Toji and Hikari nodded slowly. Again, Shinji really couldn't say he was surprised by this choice. There were two possible futures given Kensuke's interests – either the military or into journalism covering the military. Since the former was easier to get into, it was no surprise that Kensuke signed up as soon as he could to become a ground-pounder. At least all those weekends in the forests would be put to use and he'd be able to tote around a gun without being yelled at by people. Kensuke would be happy in that career choice as much as Shinji sort of wanted to see his old friend again.

"Bingo. He actually got into one of those fancy military academies in fact. He's going to become some big shot officer when he's done. He'll probably do everything in his power to get into anything remotely related to NERV…hell, he might even try for Misato's job when he gets older." Both Toji and Shinji just shook their heads slowly at the thought of Kensuke running the Eva project. It was bad enough he obsessed about it when he was a teenager. That kind of power would probably go straight to his head.

Making a quick check of his watch, Shinji saw that time was drawing to a close for the friendly conversation. If Shinji and Rei were to make it to their lecture with plenty of time, they'd need to head out soon. He was giving himself a comfortable amount of time to spare just in case he got lost…like usual. With a round of 'good-bye', 'good luck', 'talk to you later', and an exchange of contact information, the two parties went their separate ways. Shinji felt a sense of relief once it was over, not that the experience was unpleasant but it was just that it wasn't until he was walking back out into the crisp morning air that he realized that things between he and Toji were going to be just fine.

"That wasn't that bad now was it?" Rei commented as the pair headed on their way to the physics hall.

"Okay, you were right and I was wrong. Can we move on from this?"

"Of course."

"So…uh, did you really mean it back then when you said we're just friends?" That was probably a bad question for him to ask but it sort of slipped out unannounced. It had been lingering in his mind without notice since she answered Hikari's question and while Shinji was curious about it, he had considered it a somewhat inappropriate question to be asking so soon. Plus…it was a bit forward in making his feelings clear. Shinji, of course, only realized the stupidity of his remark until it was said and all he could muster now was a slightly awkward look to his companion.

"I'm…not sure. I'd need more time."

A part of him was almost…hoping for that answer, as he wasn't certain either. He needed time to adjust to his new life.

---------------------

The lecture room for the physics class was a relatively small lecture hall with about a dozen rows of seats arranged in a wide arc in before the front of the class where chalkboards, a small podium, and a retracted projector screen was situated. Being well early for the class, Shinji and Rei had their choice of seats, to which they promptly decided upon a pair of seats near center. Regrettably, there were no windows to stare out of when you got bored and the size of the lecture hall (which sat only about 300 students) combined with a steep seating arrangement made it easier for the professor to see the faces of each and every student.

"Why does this classroom fill me with a strange sense of impending doom?" Shinji remarked as he set his bag down under his seat and got some paper and pencils out in preparation for class. For some reason as he sat there, he felt as if a great and terrible experience was awaiting him over the course of the academic year. "Do you know who the professor is?"

"I'm not sure, there were some last minutes changes and they never got a chance to announce the new professor," Rei answered. Shinji sighed and figured the next ten minutes until class started was going to be an agonizing wait.

As time progressed, more and more students began to pile into the class. Shinji occasionally glanced to the lecture hall entrance to see if any familiar faces from his old high school showed up. However, with this being only one class in a huge campus full of different courses, it was highly unlikely he was going to see anybody else. In his boredom, Shinji just started twirling his pen around his thumb, a feat that had taken him most of eleventh grade to master. When a bell started to chime suddenly, Shinji lost his focus and the pen slipped from his fingertips and onto the ground. The bell was typically used to signify the end of a lecture (which was twenty minutes past the hour) but Shinji was early and this was the first lecture of the day. Quickly leaning down to get his pen back, his hand wound up being placed overtop of the slender, pale fingers of the young girl sitting next to him.

Shinji couldn't find any words to say as his face hung inches from Rei's, staring into those shimmering red eyes of hers. After staring like an idiot for far too long, Shinji quickly retracted his hand and both teenagers snapped back into an upright position.

"You…dropped this," Rei said softly, almost shyly as she set the pen down on his chair's foldout desk.

"T-thanks," Shinji stammered. "Things aren't going to be…awkward for us during this class, is it?"

"Maybe…probably more so for you."

"I'm sure I can handle this…I mean us and…"

"I was actually referring to her," Rei said as she directed Shinji's attention to the front of the class. The sight he saw made him almost collapse in his chair. Across the chalkboard were the words 'Doctor Asuka Langley Soryu' and the redheaded Germanic teenager stood behind the lecturer's podium.

"Oh sweet merciful crap…"


	13. Chapter 12: Para Bellum

**Chapter Twelve: Para Bellum**

Confused and intrigued murmurs began to sweep through the entire lecture hall as the students realized that the young girl, who was probably younger than half the class, was actually the lecturer for it. Shinji could only imagine the number of strings that needed to be pulled to get Asuka into this position…but NERV had a great deal of influence in the city and probably had most of the university under its thumb for emergencies. He couldn't begin to predict the horrors that awaited him in this course with Asuka at the controls. All Shinji could do was pray that the university administration had Asuka on a short leash as a new lecturer.

"This is a nightmare…I'm really asleep in my bed and all of this is just a figment of my cruel subconscious," Shinji muttered as he sank lower in his seat, hoping that there was a slight chance that Asuka might not see him. Even if she did, though, it was unlikely she'd acknowledge even knowing him – she had a professional reputation to forge and maintain. "Lord why have you forsaken me?"

"I think you're over-reacting a bit," Rei replied, trying to keep her friend from completely losing it. "She won't single you out like she normally does; she can't. There are people watching her now." Shinji quickly realized that she had a point there. Back during school, Asuka had always maintained a sort of 'good girl' façade and only revealed her true colours in private. With a whole class of a hundred or so students watching, she'd either have to stay civil or forever cement a reputation as being the Queen of Bitches.

"Maybe…maybe you're right. Maybe it won't be that bad…" Shinji sighed lightly, desperately trying to relax now. He felt like a rabbit hiding amongst the brush from its predators – overly vigilant to the slightest indication that she might be about to pounce. "Who knows, perhaps she could actually be a good teacher."

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen! As the board clearly indicates, my name is Doctor Asuka Langley Soryu and I will be lecturing you for the next eight months. For those who don't pay any attention to what courses they sign up for, this is physics 107, 'Introduction to Physics', or as I would prefer to call it – a rehash of everything you should've learned in high school already. This is the course geared towards all you pre-med students or other people who have to take one physics course and are looking for an easy A. For those of you have taken high school physics, I don't see why you're still here cause you can do a lot better. For those of you who haven't, this will be physics' last chance to make your life miserable. Even though this is the most rudimentary of physics courses offered at the university, I have every intention of making this as challenging and mentally stimulating as it can be. Welcome to flavour country."

"Never mind…we're all going to die."

"Now…my predecessor suggested that as part of my introduction I should give you some background information about myself in some lame attempt to make me seem more human and approachable to you. However, since I'm also well within the eligible age bracket for all of you I think I'll stick to making myself look as untouchable as the Virgin Mary. I attained my undergraduate at the Free University of Berlin and my PhD in quantum mechanics at the Humboldt University of Berlin. Anybody else with my credentials would be teaching graduate programs but since the powers that be didn't want a professor that was two-thirds the age of her students, I've been cast down here to teach you people the basics of a subject that you all plan to never see again after this year."

"At least she's honest with them," Shinji remarked under his breath. Despite making it clear that she had no interest in more 'personal' relationships with her students, Shinji expected her to still be beating them back with a stick…metaphorically speaking. She'd use something larger if it got to that point. From the murmurs and puzzled gazes from the other students around him, Shinji got the impression that most of the class didn't quite know what to make of the new teacher yet. Most of them were thinking that, while very attractive, she didn't seem to be particularly pleasant.

"Now I'm still working on getting the hang of the course website so don't expect the class notes to be available online for a couple of days. For the time being you'll just all just have to write down the notes like they did in the old days," Asuka concluded with the pleasantries and got down to business of getting through the first day objectives. "Since, for most of you, this is your first time through university I will try to go slowly but I will not be holding your hand through the year. If you have questions or concerns I would recommend asking you TA's before you deem it necessary to bother me. I have a lot of commitments within and outside the university so what free time I do have I do not really want to spend it going explaining why an equation is a particular way. Check your notes, check your textbooks, check with your peers, and check with your TA before even considering taking up my free time. If it's not a big question just ask me at the start of a class and I'll take it up. But please, don't turn to me every time you can't get a question – in the real world you don't have somebody to always fall back on. This would be a prime opportunity to learn how to deal with roadblocks."

Nothing like having a narcissistic, ego-maniacal, pain-in-the-ass for a professor to make an academic year go by really, really slowly. Somehow Shinji felt as if she was lobbing a hand grenade into the class just to get him. He certainly wouldn't put it past her. "I'm going to grow to loathe this course…" Shinji sighed softly.

"Oh…and try to have a good time. Physics can be fun if you keep a positive attitude."

---------------------

Hours after the lecture had ended, Asuka retired away from the crowds of questioning students into the security of solitude of her new, personal office. It was about the size of an office cubicle, with a lousy view of the next building over, a thermostat that was on the fritz, and walls that might as well have been made out of cardboard for all their insulating ability…but still, an office was an office and you had to start somewhere. Some might not think much of the drab little office but she knew she could make something of it…all it needed was a little of European-influenced décor.

"Man, who knew being a professor actually involved so much work?" Asuka muttered bitterly to herself as she finished another handful of paperwork required by the administration pertaining to her plans for the curriculum. She knew it would only get busier as the year progressed – despite her numerous request she was still going to have to deal with students and their questions along with arranging extra study periods when exam time rolled around, booking rooms for midterms, arranging any special guest lectures, and about a million other things that could come up at a moment's notice. Her big concern was arranging for a substitute to have on call just in case she had to fulfill her duties for NERV at the same time he was needed for a lecture. It was going to be interesting trying to explain to the class why she was absent so frequently…she would think of something. She always did.

Now normally Asuka would be taking her time with her work to make sure everything was being done correctly. Despite what a certain housemate of hers might think, she could actually be a very methodical worker, especially when she was actually trying. Of course, she was methodical when she didn't have to stop and think about how to translate what she wanted to write.

"Scheiße," Asuka cursed under her breath as her pen halted halfway through her sentence. She tapped her pen repeatedly against the page as she tried to get her mind to work in Japanese again. It was going to take some to get used to being in Japanese-mode 24/7. Twice she had found her mind drifting off, thus resulting in a few sentences being written down in fragmented German. That only prompted more German vulgarities from her. "What time is it?" Asuka muttered as she glanced to the wall clock – there was still a lot of time to go before she could punch out for the day…and she was still waiting on Shinji and Rei to get back from wherever the hell they were. While she'd get chewed out for leaving them behind, she wasn't going to be late for the meeting with Colonel Musashi because of those two. "Where are those bloody idiots?"

"Well not everybody can be as perfect as you Asuka," a familiar voice spoke up from her office door. She merely glanced upwards to see a tall, young lad standing there who was certainly not Shinji. He was a fair bit taller and carried about twenty pounds worth of extra muscle compared to Shinji. His short platinum blonde hair was definitely not Japanese in origin, nor was his sparkling green eyes.

"You're late," Asuka replied as a small smirk crossed her face.

"Well unlike you I couldn't just pack up everything and leave Germany on a whim," the young man replied as he strolled into the room. "And I certainly don't have access to super-sonic jets like you."

"Feh, excuses," Asuka scoffed jokingly.

"It's not my fault, all I needed to do was apply to the university and find an apartment."

"Nothing's ever your fault according to you. You could've just left her behind I doubt she would miss you between talking to walls and her catatonic comas."

"I'm not just going to dump her on somebody else's lap, especially with the facilities back in Germany. She's better off staying with me…staying in an environment that doesn't treat her like every other head case."

"Except she is like every other head case. She tried to mail your cat to Zimbabwe and three occasions and don't forget the time where she declared the bathroom her personal kingdom," Asuka retorted as the young man took a seat in the empty chair. "But…you're probably right. Schizophrenia's always had a better recovery rate in non-industrialized countries…dumping her in a psych ward probably isn't the best for her."

"She's gotten better. Her medication's got the hallucinations under control and she's able to act rational every so often…still tries to mail the cat every third week but the cat knows to avoid her now." He sighed lightly afterwards, leaving the room in an awkward silence for a few moments. "So…um, nice office you have here. It's very…cramped."

"Welcome to Japan - where finding ways to make things smaller is a way of life," Asuka sarcastically joked as she pushed aside yet another pile of papers that she had worked her way through. "You know, I could use an extra teaching assist to help out with the laboratory sections. You'd just have to mark some first year labs, go supervise the labs and tutorials every week, and you get to make a bit of yen on the side."

"You've already signed me up haven't you?"

"Yup. Still wanted to make sure you were okay with it though," Asuka said as she grinned playfully. The young man was about to reply when a knocking from the doorway interrupted him. Both looked over to now see Shinji and Rei standing patiently in Asuka's doorway. "It's about time you two showed up," Asuka scorned as she got up from her desk and grabbed her coat.

"Sorry, we kind of lost track of time," Shinji apologized, glancing periodically to the young man sitting in front of Asuka's desk. He knew it wasn't his business to ask questions about the people Asuka associated with so he kept his mouth shut.

"Let me guess, that must be that Shinji guy you mentioned," the young man spoke up, getting up from his seat as well. "And the blue-haired one must be Rei."

"Uh…yeah, how'd you know that?"

"If I had a euro for every time I had to listen to her complain I could've retired three months ago."

"That's nothing compared to having to listen to your complaints," Asuka interrupted, trying to avoid becoming the topic of a less-than-pleasant conversation. "Shinji…this is Wolfgang von Bismarck, he's one of my friends from university."

"You mean there was more than one person you talked to without completely alienating them?"

"Not funny Wolf," Asuka sneered, followed by several more remarks in German that were beyond Shinji's comprehension. "We collaborated a couple of times back when I was going for my master's degree and now he's going for his PhD here."

"Nice to meet you Wolfgang."

"Likewise Shinji."

"Anyways, as much as I'd love to play catch-up I'm afraid I have to leave with these two to attend to some important business," Asuka explained as she motioned for everyone to vacate the office. "Wolfgang, you know how to reach me. Shinji and Rei, come with me cause I'm not going to be late because of you two," she instructed after locking up her office. She didn't appear to be waiting up for the two teens as she headed off to the parking garage.

"I had to deal with this for the past three years," Wolfgang remarked as Shinji walked passed him.

"And I have to live with her." Shinji wasn't quite sure what to make of this 'old friend' of Asuka's but at least he had proof that she was actually capable of being a nuisance to other people aside from himself. What exactly made this Wolfgang guy stick around Asuka for so long as beyond him but he had the feeling that he would be seeing a lot more Wolfgang in the weeks to come.

---------------------

"He seemed like a nice guy…"

"Well thanks, I now have the approval of my friend from somebody I did not want nor need it from," Asuka promptly retorted as the trio walked through the halls of the NERV complex. "Why do you seem so surprised that I'm capable of having social relationships with other people outside of NERV?"

"Because you're narcissistic," Rei commented.

"Keep that up and you're walking home." As correct as Rei might be, it didn't mean that Asuka wanted it pointed out to her. It was supposed to be a rhetorical question…but leave it to Rei to overlook Asuka's subtleties. "Why do you care about Wolfgang anyways Shinji? He's my friend, not yours. You don't have to deal with him…well, except for the fact that he's going to be your TA for your lab group."

"I'm just puzzled why he's all the way here in Japan now," Shinji explained. "Did you ask him to come or something?"

"You brought Kyo, can't I bring a friend with me?" Asuka snapped back. "Besides, unlike the rest of you dunderheads, Wolfgang knows how to appreciate beauty and intelligence when he sees it. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were a little jealous Shinji."

"Why the hell would I be jealous? I'm glad you've got a friend here…then maybe you'll spend a little less time bugging me."

"Hey, easy there cowboy. Boy, looks like somebody's actually managed to grow some semblance of a spine over the past few years…" A smug smirk crossed her lips as she glanced over her shoulder to Shinji, just to mess with his head a little more. "I'm a little hurt that you don't cherish a friendship a little more Shinji…after everything we've been through I thought you might be a bit more…protective."

"Why would you need protecting? Cause this guy is like a dead-ringer to Kaji?" Shinji immediately tried to put the brakes on his words the moment that named slipped out of his lips. The redhead came to an abrupt halt in the hallway; her tightening fists a dead indicator of her temperament.

"He is not like Kaji," Asuka said softly. Her tone was a brewing cauldron of conflicted emotions, none of which she wanted to let out right now and so, before Shinji could apologize for anything, she picked up her pace to get to the meeting room. Shinji merely sighed lightly to himself, shaking his head slowly as he mentally kicked himself for making such a stupid move. He should've known better than to bring Kaji into a conversation with her…regardless of how true the statement might've been.

"That was pretty stupid…even for you," Rei commented as she motioned for him to keep moving.

"Thanks, I never realized that," he grumbled and hurried on his way to catch up with Asuka.

She had already reached the meeting room by the time Shinji caught up. Asuka sat amongst the other senior staff of NERV in the rows of seats that faced a large projector screen on the far wall. Misato and the Colonel were the only two standing at the front and both of them noticed Shinji and Rei's arrival immediately. Making sure not to waste everyone's time even more, the two promptly took a seat at the closest ones available.

"Well, now that everybody is here we can finally get this meeting underway," the Colonel remarked, causing Shinji to sink a bit lower in his chair. Thank god he was in the back row and thus out of everybody else's sight. "When most of you took up your positions months ago, you were told that NERV's resurrection was because the UN didn't want to abandon a military project with such potential as the Eva project. You might have also been told that it was for insurance in case the situation was not as resolved as we had originally thought…today I am here to tell you, and apologize to you, that these reasons are complete bullocks. A few of you were already told ahead of time but were told to keep it private until the time was right…well, you can be honest with your colleagues now. NERV wasn't restarted because of a gamble…it was brought back because we had strong evidence to suggest what we feared the most – the fight is not over yet." With the press of a remote, the first image appeared on the screen: the warning message carved into the wall of NERV years ago. There were general murmurs from the people in the room but pretty much everybody had suspected such an event, so it came as no huge surprise.

"Our research suggests that this new threat is of a different nature compared to the Angels. While we cannot be certain what their goals might be, it is nonetheless imperative that we stand ready for when the time comes," Misato added. "Until evidence points to the contrary, we have designated this new threat the 'Seven Sins'."

"Our fears were confirmed about two months after we restarted NERV, an old sonar station located in the Gulf of the St. Lawrence River, up in Canada, picked up unusual activity. At first the Americans thought it was one of their submarines that got a little lost but after reviewing the data collected they contacted the UN. Whatever had set the sonar off was about six times the size of a nuclear submarine. A few weeks later, a surveillance plane took this image off the coastline of mainland Europe…" A new aerial photo appeared on the screen. Located in the center of the water was a shadow of something located beneath the water. It was huge…incredibly long and made a dwarf out of the small boat that happened to be in the shot at the same time.

"Several more sightings of this creature have been made, each one progressively closer to Japan…the latest of which was twenty-six kilometers south-east of Japan's southern-most coastline. We've code-named it 'Leviathan' for the time being," Misato continued as new images began to appear on the screen of the other sightings, all of which consisted of the same massive shadow lurking beneath the water's surface. "Several other countries have reported seeing massive, lumbering creatures roaming the wastelands but unfortunately we have been unable to confirm those reports just yet. Needless to say, the evidence strongly suggests that a new threat is upon us…and it's coming for Japan, or at least this region of the world. For those of you who still remember the Angel campaign…I know this is going to be tough for you all to continue your duties. Though you were asked repeatedly before you accepted you position, if anybody here has any doubts about continuing their post in light of this new information, you are more than free to resign…all I ask is that you make your decision soon so we can find a suitable replacement."

"I sincerely hope nobody will leave though – I assure you that this new ordeal shall not be like the Angel campaign with its secrets and puppet shows. This operation is being closely monitored by the UN and they will be skeptical of any operations we undertake." The Colonel paused for a moment before bringing up a new slide on the screen. This time it was of the three Evas in separate shots being worked on by the tech crews. "As of today, we still have zero functioning Evangelion units as we have yet to confirm that the pilots are still capable of operating these weapons. We are short-staffed, even shorter on resources, and have almost no leeway with the United Nations at this time. Needless to say, the success of this operation depends highly on each and every one of you being willing to give everything you can for the project until we can restore functional capacity to NERV."

Silence hung over the room for a few moments and even throughout the entire geofront, as this meeting was being broadcasted to every monitor in the base for even the lowliest of workers to watch. NERV was not the will of one man but the toils and efforts of hundreds. They all deserved to know what was going to happen and what future awaited them.

"I leave you with but a few words uttered many years ago by a famous man: Sure I am this day we are masters of our fate, that the task which has been set before us is not above our strength; that its pangs and toils are not beyond our endurance. As long as we have faith in our own cause and an unconquerable will to win, victory will not be denied us."


	14. Chapter 13: ZELLE

**Chapter Thirteen: ZELLE**

"He's certainly a better motivational speaker than his predecessor," Asuka shrugged casually as her car reached the surface world again. Shinji sat silently next to her, watching the world rush by as the car began its long trip back to the city. Shinji had to agree with his friend – the new Commander presented a far better image than his father did. He knew he should feel better about the fact that there's a new, seemingly much better commander leading NERV this time around but part of him still, for some strange reason, had trouble letting go of his father from his memories. Now he didn't want his father back for any reason…but he didn't want him gone either. Gendo was gone though and there wasn't any bringing him back. Perhaps it was because there was never any hard-proof confirmation of Gendo's death that made it such a lingering issue on his mind. There was strange sense of uncertainty, especially when it came to his father, who always seemed to have something hiding behind the curtains. For a long time, Shinji still couldn't let go of the possibility that maybe Gendo had a contingency plan as well…but failure was not something that anybody ever really wanted to plan for. Eventually, especially with a couple of reassurances from Rei, Shinji almost fully accepted his father's death. Accepting the death didn't mean that he was ready to move on though. It would probably be some time before Shinji could accept Colonel Musashi as the new commander of NERV.

"I'm more worried about the guy who's taken Misato's job," Shinji finally answered, pulling his eyes away from the wilderness landscape and over to Asuka. "What did you think?"

"I got the impression he takes his job a bit more seriously than Misato does and probably is a bit more level-headed than her…but it'll depend a lot on how he handles his first operation," Asuka replied honestly, though her opinion mirrored that of everybody else's in the car. The new staff members all held promise but what was important was how they held it together during a real crisis. Even the pilots were a little concern about their own abilities, which have all dulled over the four years of complete inactivity…not that any of them would really admit those concerns. Asuka was eager to start her little rivalry with Shinji again, confidant that her skills would, at the very least, have dulled less than Shinji's. She figured she was the only person out of the three that continued any kind of combat training during her years away from NERV.

"I just wished we knew a bit more of what we were going up against," Asuka muttered under her breath. "If we have to do another fight on top of boats then I'm sitting it out. You can go be fish bait Shinji."

"I don't think fishing is going to work this time – according to Misato that…thing was a lot bigger than the Angel." Shinji hoped that he wasn't going to be in for a general repeat of what happened last time. While it would make life easier, a lot of the missions didn't go the way Shinji wanted them to. "At least there's only seven this time."

"Less doesn't necessarily mean easier," Rei added. "The first one is already bigger than almost all of the Angels."

"Not to mention, after what happened last time, I can't say we're going to have the easiest of times politically."

"We're pilots, Asuka, not politicians. That's not our concern."

"And if the politicians don't approve of a budget request from Colonel Musashi you think we're going to have an easy time piloting? We could wind up having to deploy only one Eva just because of repair costs." Asuka probably better understood the more administrative side to NERV than Shinji or Rei. Shinji just didn't really give it much thought while Rei wasn't concerned with it – her job was to pilot and to worry about her boss' job would only be distracting. "We're under-staffed and probably really under-funded. All in all, I'd rather not be the one who has to pilot the first sortie and put everything to its first test."

Shinji mentally sighed as he hoped the little…disagreement between Asuka and Rei didn't turn ugly. He would've enjoyed the mountainous landscape a little better if it weren't for the looming danger around him.

"Then don't be first, they'll understand if you still have reservations about their competency."

"That's…not what I meant," Asuka growled, worrying Shinji more as he feared she would focus more on her 'opponent' rather than on the road. "If you want to be the guinea pig to NERV 2.0 then go right ahead. It's a new base, new equipment, and a new staff that hasn't been tested once. I don't do blind faith…"

The conversation was going downhill and Shinji was hoping he could think of something to put a barrier between the two, metaphorically or literally. They had only been living under the same roof and working together for a few days now and they were already starting to…grate on each other's nerves. Four years ago Shinji wouldn't expect Rei to do anything about Asuka's behavior but since then she's learned to be more…assertive when she needs to, at least with somebody she already knew.

Panning across the horizon, something in the distance caught his eyes and almost made the young adult do a double take in shock. "Asuka stop the car," Shinji requested in a dulled tone as his mind was still having trouble processing what he was seeing.

"Don't tell me how to drive!"

"Stop the damn car!" Shinji insisted more sternly, now recognizing what he was seeing. The car only came into a halt because Asuka was ready to chew him out. However, she quickly saw what Shinji had seen as well and she was immediately struck silent by it.

"Mein gott…"

---------------------

"Where the hell did it come from?" Captain Yamato shouted as he stormed into the NERV command center. For the first time in four years, geofront became engulfed in activity as hundreds of workers scrambled to their posts. Mechanics and technicians reported to the cages to get the Evas ready for launch, senior staff headed to their observation posts, and the biggest question on everybody's mind was what Yamato had just voiced.

"No idea sir, it's just appeared out of the blue. It was actually picked up by the old radar systems rather than the bio-sensors," Ibuki reported from her console. Colonel Musashi was oddly absent from the command center but Misato, mostly out of habit, was already on hand before the captain's arrival. While her job didn't require her presence, she wanted to make sure his first day facing a real crisis went smoothly. A lot was at stake with an untested NERV about to go into action and she expected a lot from her subordinates. "None of the alarms went off because…well, they're not designed to react to these kinds of readings."

"This doesn't make any sense," Yamato groaned as he paced around the room.

"It doesn't need to make sense Captain," Misato reminded him. "You're the Chief of Operations so it's responsibility to come up with a strategy on how to handle this. Now start thinking Captain."

"Of course ma'am," the Captain nodded as his focus was prioritized thanks to Misato's words. "The pilots only left about twenty minutes ago – get them back here now! I need the Eva's put on stand-by-"

"Those are all standard procedures Captain. Trust your people to do their jobs and focus on yours," Misato interrupted, mentally discouraged by the somewhat greenhorn performance. She didn't recall having much success on her first days on the job either. "The pilots aren't here yet so your first priority is to get the right information about the situation. Who do you need up here that isn't?"

Looking to the main screens, Yamato took a few deep breaths to ease his nerves and start back at square one. "Get Dr. Washington up here now...he'll probably want to see this." As his order was carried out, he and Misato both took another disheartening look at the terrifying sight. The image, provided by aerial cameras, showed them the unmistakable image of an Evangelion unit that bore the 'Unit-04' upon its shoulder. "Which Eva is best readied for launch?"

"Unit-00 is at 81 functional capacity, Unit-01 is at 95 functional capacity, and Unit-02 is at 66 functional capacity," Lt. Hyuga answered from his workstation.

"When the pilots get here, launch Unit-00 and put the others on stand-by."

"With all due respect Captain, wouldn't it make more sense to launch the Evangelion that's nearly fully operational. Unit-00 still has incomplete armour, untested targeting systems, and it's still being fitted with its new operating system. The two times we tested Unit-00 with a test plug program it suffered cascading system failures," Ibuki argued, which caught the attention of everyone else in the room. Everyone shared a similar view, though not with the same level of technical facts to back it up.

"This isn't an Angel we're dealing with and until we have a hostile situation, we'll treat it as an investigation," Captain Yamato answered. Everybody knew that it was because the Captain was just uneasy about getting on the UN's nerves with launching Eva-01, which was sort of a controversial issue with them. In short…they were just scared to see what would happen if they did it. "And if anybody can explain why an Evangelion unit that went supernova in the Nevada desert is doing all the way over here in Japan, feel free to tell me."

"Nuclear sir," Ibuki peeped up.

"What?"

"It was more of a nuclear explosion…a supernova is more of an implosion…sir."

"Whatever. Answers people, I want answers!"

"It's been four years Yamato, it could've been rebuilt by another group. Remember that NERV had sister groups in several countries that were building Evangelion units at the time of NERV's shut-down," Misato suggested from where she stood closer to the back of the room. "It went undetected because its IFF transponder would still be recognized by the NERV sensors. This had to have been built by one of the NERV branches, which could've been restarted by the UN as well."

"Impossible," Yamato shook his head slowly. "They would've told us. If there were another Evangelion unit constructed, it'd have the proper designation codes, not the re-used Unit-04. That cannot be the original Unit-04!" It was hard to dispute though, as it bore the exact resemblance of the experimental Eva-04. Aside from its silver metallic armour plating, its body design was identical to that of the destroyed Unit-03. It was the last completed Evangelion unit before the mass-produced ones that SEELE deployed against NERV four years ago. Its experimental energy system went critical and destroyed the entire NERV branch at Nevada. If it had been rebuilt, the creators would've needed the specs, which were destroyed along with everyone who helped construct it…with the exception of Dr. Washington.

"Lt. Aoba, please tell me the sensors have figured something out."

"All signatures point to Eva-04, though it's got numerous modifications to its peripheral system. It's amour plating is not of NERV specifications and it's got a number of shielding layers that's preventing me from getting a look on the inside. I…can't even tell if it's on."

"It'd have to be working to get here…but there's no power supply," Yamato muttered.

"The mass-produced ones didn't use an external power source, maybe that's been reproduced," Misato suggested.

"Technology was destroyed with them, the only people who could reproduce it would be the ones who sent them…and I don't think this is them," Aoba answered. "Its external construction is too dissimilar. The external modifications are too crudely put together…it's like somebody built it in their garage, so to speak."

"Where the hell is Dr. Washington?"

"I'm sorry Captain, I've been having trouble locating him," another officer on hand answered. Yamato merely hoped that the scientist hadn't gone home for the day already, which was unlikely but still possible. He needed information and if anybody could verify if this were the real Eva-04, it'd be Dr. Washington. "But the pilots have all reported in at the Cages and they're already being prepped for launch."

"And how annoyed is Shinji?" Misato asked.

"Um…very, ma'am. He is confused why we're refusing to launch Eva-01."

"He just doesn't like the idea of us launching Rei first," Misato muttered to herself. She could tell that Shinji had strong feelings for Rei…obviously he would care about her safety over his own. However, that wasn't the kind of selflessness they needed in this line of work.

"Tell Mr. Ikari that we'll launch the other Evas if we need to and not a moment sooner," Yamato insisted as he leaned up against a central command table, which had a holographic display of the city and surrounding regions. "The UN would have our butts in a sling if we ordered a state of emergency already," Yamato muttered to himself. Fortunately for him, and NERV, the spotted Eva-04 was far enough from the city that there was a sufficient buffer zone between the theatre of operation and the city. "I want this thing identified and I want it contained…and where the hell is Washington?!"

---------------------

"This is Eva-00 reporting in," Rei's voice sounded clearly over the newly updated communication systems. The blue-plated Evangelion stood amidst the forest and rocky landscape that surrounded the Tokyo-3 region. Several plates of armour, particularly lower abdomen and lower extremities, had yet to be replaced with the newer plates, which was slightly thicker and more sloped than the old armour along with being in a slight dark shade of blue.

"Approach the target from the western terrain, you'll have better cover in case the situation turns hostile," Yamato instructed from the other end of the line.

"Yes sir." On the bright side, the crews' concerns about incompatibilities between the older pilots and the new Evangelion systems were not going to happen. "Beginning approach." Armed with a standard assault rifle, Eva-00 slowly approached the lone standing Eva-04 that had still remained motionless in the middle of the flatlands. "Halting approach at one kilometer from target, please advise." Rei's Evangelion stopped at a fixed distance, keeping her weapon trained on the mysterious Evangelion.

"Approach to thirty-five meters and evaluate threat level. Confirm if an plug has been inserted into the Evangelion."

As Rei proceeded with Captain Yamato's orders, Dr. Washington finally reported to the command center to give what information he knew and to possible confirm whether or not the Evangelion was indeed the original Eva-04.

"Is the world coming to an end cause that's what your messenger seemed to be implying with his urgency," Washington remarked as he entered the room. None of the senior staff needed to say anything as the live-feed from Eva-00 on the main screen spoke infinitely louder to the doctor. His eyes widened and his jaw gaped open as he stood dumbfounded by the door. Obviously there was not going to be anybody more surprised by the sight than Dr. Washington, who had carried the guilt of the destroyed Eva-04 for almost four years. "Is…that what I think it is?"

"It certainly looks like it. It even possesses an old NERV IFF transponder," Misato answered. "We were wondering if you could shed some light on this."

"This is…impossible. Eva-04 lost its containment field and destroyed everything in an 89km radius," Washington began, his voice being a little shaken while he stepped further into the room. "It has to be a remake of it."

"Then why make it look like the original?" Misato replied, making the scientist reconsider his original assumptions. "How can we confirm if it's the original or not?"

"Um…c-check its IFF transponder frequency. You can reprogram a transponder to send a new identification tag but the frequency is built right into its hardware. The originally frequency should be 187.11 megahertz so unless they've managed to build a new IFF transponder with the exact same frequency by chance, this is a replica. The frequency's are so varied and…and they wouldn't be mentioned in any blueprints or specs "

"It's…187.11 megaherts," Ibuki reported, ushering yet another awkward moment of silence in the room. Results didn't fit the premises…absolutely nothing made sense anymore except that they did have the original sitting several kilometers outside of the city limits.

"Hm…well then. This makes things complicated," Dr. Washington muttered, taking the news surprisingly well, or just not showing it. "If…if it's the original, then that means that the Super Solenoid engine functions properly…then that means the Eva doesn't need an external power source."

"In other words Rei could be walking right up to…bait…" Yamato's words slowly trailed off as he realized what could be going on right now. Akira rushed over to the main comm. console and pushed the stationed officer aside. "Abort operation Rei! Pull back immediately!" His words were too little, too late though. Eva-00 came right up to the inactive Evangelion and, in order to check for an inserted plug, set her rifle down temporarily and grabbed hold of the armour panel that protected the plug entry site.

_"The bait has been taken sir."_

_"Then strike hard my hammer of vengeance…"_

As soon as Eva-00 laid a hand upon the back of Eva-04, its eyes shot open. The dim red eyes shone a malice glare at Eva-00, suddenly snapping into action by grabbing hold of the other Eva and flipped it to the ground. Everybody in the command center gasped as the situation turned quickly into their first real hostile sortie. "Eva-00 under attack. Request immediate support," Rei called out over the radio, remaining remarkable calm in the face of adversity.

"Launch Eva-01 immediately," Yamato ordered. "Washington, who could've gained control of Eva-04? Who could be piloting it?"

"I…can't remember. They had to pull in a last-minute test pilot because the one that was with us during the whole project had to be let go because of a mental breakdown. I…can't remember – it wasn't on any of the paperwork because of how sudden it was," Washington answered as he was beginning to realize that it was entirely possible that this was the original Eva-04. There had always been rumors of sabotage but what if was something worse than sabotage. Unfortunately, there wasn't time to worry about the how or the why; they just had to deal with the rogue Evangelion on their hands.

They watched as Eva-00 scrambled to put some distance between itself and its opponent. The silver Evangelion loomed over Rei's, watching her as she rolled to the side and sprung back to her feet, unfortunately separated from her rifle, which lay on the other side of Eva-04.

"If it's original then it might still be running on our software and systems," Misato reminded the others.

"I know where this is going," Yamato nodded with a 'thank you' smile. "Lt. Ibuki, try and access Eva-04's systems. Lt. Hyuga, there's got to be somebody talking to the pilot inside Eva-04, try and find its communication signal. Miss Ayanami, try opening a communication line."

"Yes sir." Eva-04 should still be utilizing the same operating software, which meant that Rei should be able to open an Eva-to-Eva line without difficulty. A small image appeared on her screen but instead of the face of a pilot, she saw a figure wearing a full helmet with an opaque, triangular visor that made it impossible to tell who was behind it. Rei merely frowned, realizing that she had just revealed her identity to her opponent and gained nothing in return. Since she could only see the pilot from the shoulder up she, nor the entire command crew who had a live feed of Rei's screen, could tell even what sex the pilot was.

"Good afternoon Rei Ayanami…and NERV," the pilot greeted. The voice was so heavily filtered and manipulated that it provided no more assistance in identifying anything about the pilot, except that he (or she) knew about them already. Its artificial voice sounded more like a robot like a person.

"Who are you?" Rei simply replied.

Both shoulder fins of Eva-04 opened up and the Evangelion grabbed hold of the exposed handles within. With a quick drawing motion, two axe heads were pulled out of the shoulder units and the momentum caused the compacted handles to extend to reveal two large axes. "We are ZELLE. You are to surrender…or die."


	15. Chapter 14: Hail to Thee

**Chapter Fourteen: Hail to Thee**

"Just hang in there Rei, we're sending up Unit-01," the always reassuring voices from the command crew reported over the comm. 'Hanging in there' was putting it lightly, though it was probably more positive sounding than the 'stay alive' that would've been more suiting. The blue Eva-00 held its ground as Rei waited for her opponent to make the first move. If she could get back to her rifle then maybe she would be able to stand a chance against Eva-04 and its twin axes.

"I shan't repeat myself Babylonian, cease your resistance and submit to our will," the distorted voice of her adversary warned a second time while the silver Evangelion took a more offensive stance with its weapons.

"I do not surrender to one who hides behind cloaks and shadow."

"Then die with regret."

The silver Evangelion charged with terrifying speed, spreading its arms wide and letting each axe cut through the air, emanating an ominous whistling that was reminiscent of falling bomb. Rei tried to move her Eva back in preparation but Unit-04's speed caught her completely off-guard. Unit-00 made a rather sloppy jump backwards as the silver Evangelion swung an axe across, just grazing the frontal armour. Unfortunately because of her haste and carelessness, Eva-04 simply continued its rotation and brought the second axe around towards the unprepared Unit-00. It caught Unit-00 full-force into the left shoulder fin, cleaving it right off and continuing on into the side of its head. Only because of the shoulder fin's interference was Rei spared the full-force of the blow to the vital head, instead just being knocked to the ground with a nasty headache.

"And you shall know that I am your one true Lord when I lay down my vengeance upon thee." The voice of her enemy taunted her as she lay dazed on the ground. She was mildly surprised to see that she was still alive after such a powerful attack. This was not going to be an easy challenge. All her experience was with battling angels, which had rather unorthodox methods of combat. A human, on the other hand, was probably even more unpredictable and she didn't have the training to counter this style of combat. Angels didn't have tactics or stratagem…they acted more on instinct than analysis. Eva-04 presented a wholly intelligent opponent; able to decipher plans, formulate counter-strategies, and adapt to an ever-changing environment and enemy made this opponent all the more dangerous.

_"Where are you Shinji?"_ Rei found herself mentally praying for her comrade's hasty arrival. It was strange how when your life depended on it, every second seemed to drag on for an eternity. Refusing to yield to this unknown enemy, Rei pushed off the ground as hard as she could and tackled Eva-04 at the legs. Despite all her concerns about logic and reasoning, when it came down to fighting for your life people did have a tendency to throw logic out the window. She just…wanted to live through this. It was a strange motivational drive for her, since 'life' was never something she had given much concern about when she was fighting the Angels. Perhaps it was because, for once, she had something to go back to.

Rei wasn't able to capitalize on her advantageous position over her opponent, as the rogue Evangelion was able to knock Unit-00 off with a few elbow strikes and then a solid push with both legs. The repeated blows to the head were starting to daze her…it had been a long time since she had been subjected to this kind of punishment. Her pain tolerance wasn't as good as it used to be. Unit-00 was sprawled on its hands and knees as the silver Evangelion loomed over it with one raised axe. "The years have not been kind to you First. I was expecting more."

Rei had gathered the impression that her opponent appeared to enjoy hearing his (or her) own voice. She took the momentary lapse of concentration to rise back to her feet, delivering a staggering uppercut right to the jaw, toppling the rogue Eva over in one shot. This was the opportunity that she had been looking for. With her opponent down, she raced back to her fallen rifle and scooped it back up. However, when she turned to take aim at Eva-04, she discovered that it was already back on its feet and one of the axes was hurtling through the air towards her. It was a dead-on hit and the force of the axe lodging just left of the midline of the frontal armour knocked Eva-00 down for the count.

"Pilot's heart rate and blood pressure are spiking," Maya warned as red lights began to flash all over Unit-00's status window. "Frontal armour has been compromised…she's hemorrhaging into the chest plate."

"Dammit Shinji, double time it now!" Yamato shouted.

"Target is in sight – firing," Shinji's quickly replied as a second screen displayed Unit-01's point of view. The barrel of his heavy cannon centered on the back of Eva-04 and unleashed its deadly payload. The roar of the blast echoed throughout the land, propelling a high-explosive anti-tank round straight into the right shoulder of the rogue Evangelion. The shell exploded in a brilliant display of red and orange flames and a shower of silver-metallic armour fragments while the Eva was knocked straight to the ground.

"Nice shot Shinji, now just do it again and we all can go home."

Though archaic in nature, the lead-spitting heavy ordinance rifle proved quite effective against the enemy Evangelion's compound armour. It exploited the disadvantage that the armour was designed to disperse energy-based attacks and blunt-force trauma, not penetrating, high explosive shells. Heeding the captain's orders, Eva-01 grabbed hold of the side handle on his cannon, pulling it back as to cycle the chamber. The breach open, releasing a cloud of gray smoke as a smoking-hot brass casing flew out from the opening and crashed into the forest below.

Just as Shinji targeted the fallen Evangelion, it sprung back to life with a quick twist and flick of its wrist, pitching the second axe towards Unit-01. Acting purely on reflex, Eva-01 drew up the only thing it could on such short notice and used the cannon to intercept the flying axe. A damaged, maybe even broken, gun was far better than taking an axe to the chest. Though blocking the axe only took a moment, that moment was all Eva-04 needed to bound towards Eva-01 and prevent a second shot from being fired. The two Evangelions collided, both holding on tightly to the gun and attempting to wrestle it free from the other's grasp.

"All hail Ikari. Hail to thee, son of Gendo and Yui," the rogue pilot's voice crackled over the comm.

"H-how'd you know that?"

"All hail Ikari. Hail to thee, first of Soryu."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"All hail Ikari, thou shalt be king hereafter."

"Now you're just talking madness."

"And yet there be method to it." Eva-04's hands quickly shifted to the axe's handle, pulling it free from the cannon. Shinji took this opportunity to smash the cannon across the Eva's face. A bad move however, as Shinji realized immediately afterwards that he had just used the front end of the gun to strike his adversary, leaving behind a very noticeable crook in the barrel.

"Try not to wreck the guns Shinji, that thing costs 25 billion yen," sighed an exasperated Captain Yamato. On the bright side, at least this particular weapon was cheaper than the other weapons used by NERV. At first, Shinji figured that since the damage was minor, the gun would be repaired easily and he wouldn't catch more flak from his commanders for wrecking government property…and then he had to use it block yet another strike from his opponent. This time around, the axe cleaved the cannon like a piece of timber.

"Shit!" Shinji cursed as he was forced to discard his weapon and quickly reached for his prog knife in the left shoulder holster.

"As the flame tests the purity of gold so too shall these pains purify your will…"

"Just shut up already!" Unit-01 clobbered the enemy Eva with a hard left hook but once again it seemed to shrug off the pain and retaliated with its axe. Shinji was a little more than annoyed with this pilot by now and it showed as Unit-01 ducked under the axe and drove his dagger hard into the Eva's lower abdomen. It recoiled away, wrenching the knife out of Shinji's hand, and staggered back a few paces to regain its composure.

"Ahh…the serpent's bite is very sharp but is it toxic?" The rogue pilot's musing was followed by a quiet chuckle. After getting punched around, shot, and stabbed, the pilot continued to remain unhindered by their attacks. It was almost as if pain didn't bother them. Effortless, Unit-04 pulled the knife out and with a flick of its wrist the knife was returned to its owner, blade first of course. It lodged into Unit-01's shoulder, causing an staggering sharp pain to radiate through Shinji's own shoulder…how the hell could the rogue pilot have shrugged that kind of pain off so easily? Fighting through the pain, Shinji had to endure even more when Unit-01 brought both arms up to protect the body from the brunt of Unit-04's axe. It cut straight to the bone and forced the Evangelion down to one knee in desperation to stay off its back. "Now where is that guardian angel of yours?"

"I'm up here asshole!" Asuka's voice suddenly bellowed and while the vocabulary was not poetic, it still inspired hope like the bugle call of the cavalry…and the bugle call was a burst of a sub-machine gun. It was obvious now that Captain Yamato had given the order to launch the last of the Evangelion units and while Unit-02 might be missing almost all its major armour plating, including both shoulder fins, it was still able to carry a gun and shoot. The first burst cut a path along the ground and through Unit-04 and then a second burst focused on Unit-04's position. Unfortunately, the spray of bullets was hitting Unit-04 and everything around, including the occasional hit on Shinji's Eva.

"Ow! Watch your fire Asuka!"

"I can't help it, this thing is as unresponsive as an alcoholic on Valium," Asuka promptly retorted as Unit-02 slid down the slope of the hill she had fired from. The spray of gunfire had succeeded in knocking the axe out of the Evangelion's hand and the rogue pilot was now in a rather precarious situation.

"Ah, the Soryu – the Sturmkind…beauty of the edelweiss and ferocity of the tempest."

"Guess introductions aren't necessary," Asuka coyly chuckled as she aimed for a third barrage. Unit-04 took off in a mad spring across the field as Asuka's barrage trailed behind. "Bloody targeting system – lead dammit, lead!" It was apparent to all who could hear her that she wasn't having the best of luck with her Eva's relatively new operating system. Some sluggishness was to be expected for the first run considering Eva-02 was pretty much rebuilt from salvaged scrap after the battle against the mass-produced Evangelions.

Diving headlong, Unit-04 went straight for the rifle that lay next to the fallen Unit-00 and scooped it up before tucking into an expertly executed roll. Asuka had to hold her fire before she accidentally sprayed bullets needlessly onto the damaged Unit-00 and by the time she centered the targeting reticules on Unit-04, it was already doing the exact same thing to her. Both Evangelion fired at the same time, both with deadly accuracy. Unfortunately, in terms of raw firepower, Asuka was now on the short end of the stick squaring off against the much larger rifle. Thus, while Unit-04 received a fair bit of damage from the sheer volume of shots striking its body armour, Unit-02 was subjected to several high-powered rounds piercing straight through the paper-thin frontal armour. In the end, both Evangelions fell to the ground…but Unit-02 collapsed a lot faster.

"Eva-02 has sustained critical damage to the main body. All systems are going into emergency shutdown." Even bigger red lights began to flash in front of Lt. Ibuki's console including several very noticeable 'emergency' lights next to the status readouts of Unit-02's pilot. "Pilot's vitals are starting to fall."

"Charge up the emergency resuscitation systems and put it on stand-by," Yamato ordered, the sense of urgency in his voice beginning to die down as the action did. Of course, there was little need for him to get energetic about since all he could do was give commands. "What's the rogue Eva's status?"

"I can't get an accurate reading," Lt. Hyuga immediately reported. "I'm detecting movement though…I don't think it's down for the count."

Sure enough, Unit-04 slowly began to stir back to life. Clearly now in a great deal of pain, the Eva staggered back to its feet, still holding onto its rifle with one hand, while the other pressed firmly against one of the larger injuries in her lower abdomen. At first, the people in the command center were worried that it would finish off the other damaged Evangelions…but instead it turned about face and began a slow, painful march back to the coastline. Everyone breathed a slight sigh of relief if only because they could get their people back to safety.

"It's heading towards the coastline, isn't it?" Yamato sighed reluctantly.

"Yes sir. I'll try and track its movement for as long as I can but once it hits the water it'll be impossible to track," Lt. Aoba answered.

"Figured as much," Misato muttered. With almost every square inch of Japan monitored by satellites and other long-ranges sensors, the only place to hide a facility large enough to house an Evangelion would be underwater. While they could do sweeps of the ocean, there were limits to the naval sensors and there was a whole lot of ocean to search. The fact that Unit-04 didn't require an external power source made it even easier to use the water as a cover for its escape.

"At least we got rid of it. The next time it comes we won't get caught off-guard by it," Yamato added with a hint of relief in his voice. It was a short-lived sense of relief though, as an audible beeping sounded from Lt. Ibuki's station.

"Unit-02's pilot is crashing! She's in V-fib," Maya alerted the others.

"Start emergency resuscitation lieutenant," Yamato replied. "Ikari, are you still mobile?"

"Just barely sir," Shinji's weakened voice replied.

"Then on your feet soldier. Get Unit-02 back inside the geofront immediately."

---------------------

A faint beeping was the first sounds that she heard. Asuka let out a quiet, discomforted groan as her eyes slowly forced themselves back open, subjecting them to the bright fluorescents of the hospital ward. It took a few seconds for her to realize that she was lying in the NERV hospital, wrapped in a paper hospital gown, and hooked up to a number of machines. As she tried to sit up, an aggravating pain in her chest immediately stopped her attempt and forced her head back to her pillow.

_"Well that's just dandy,"_ Asuka mentally sighed as she stared blankly at the ceiling. The last few things she could recall were firing upon the rogue Evangelion and then getting a helping of rifle rounds in return…after that everything was just blank. What she could remember, though, was that she managed to save Shinji's butt from the rogue Eva. If she had opened fired at that right moment, Unit-01 probably would've gotten an axe to the head. It brought a strange sense of satisfaction to the young pilot, especially since she had been battling her own self-doubts due to a less-than-stellar record when piloting her Eva. Sure she felt like crap and they probably hauled her Eva back to base but at least she could take that one victory out of this whole event. She blamed her current condition on the overall poor quality of her Eva's performance. Asuka made a mental note to have a serious talk with the mechanics that worked on her Eva, as they must've done a piss-poor job on restoring it to have resulted in such poor functioning capabilities. Piloting her Eva's movements felt like trying to pull twice the Eva's weight, hence why it was so difficult for her to lead her gunfire against the rogue Eva.

"How are you feeling Rei?" Shinji's voice from nearby quickly caught Asuka's attention and she realized that she did not have a private room. The First Child was in the hospital bed just seven feet to the right, separated from her by a single drawn curtain that still allowed Asuka to see Shinji's silhouette.

"I'm fine Shinji," Rei replied as calmly as always. "They want to thoroughly analyze the scans before they discharge me."

"I'm sorry I didn't get there sooner."

"You followed the captain's orders to the letter. There was nothing more you could've done."

"I could have aimed a bit better…maybe then Asuka wouldn't have had to fight."

"What happened to Asuka wasn't your fault."

"You know I can hear you two, you can stop talking as if I'm not in the room," Asuka suddenly shouted out as loudly as her pained lungs could muster. She could see Shinji's startled reaction through his body language and how quickly he drew the curtain so that they could see each other. "You too need to talk a little quieter, some people are trying to rest here."

"Asuka…um, uh…I'm sorry about that."

"You should be. So how long were you going to chat her up before you check in to see how I was doing?"

"He did check on you," Rei interrupted. "You were unconscious at the time."

"Nobody asked for your two cents," Asuak snapped back. "Clearly he was here to see me, what with the drawn curtain and the lack of a chair at my bedside. You probably spent a whole two seconds to check in on me. At least I'm still dressed…" Shinji remained awkwardly silent with a clearly embarrassed expression on his flustered face. "So are you going to ask how I feel or are you just going to stare like an idiot?"

"Oh, right. Um…how are you feeling?" Shinji hastily asked to save face.

"My chest hurts, thanks for giving two shits."

"That's no surprise, they had to shock you a lot to keep your heart beating properly," Rei added.

"They what?"

"You crashed like three times on your way back to base," Shinji explained to her. "The doctors remarked that I hadn't gotten you back to base as quickly as I did, you might not have made it."

"You…saved me?" Asuka muttered in disbelief.

"Maybe. I guess this sorta makes us even though," Shinji answered with a shrug of uncertainty. He wasn't concerned with who-owed-who anyways; he was just relieved to see that they both managed to get out of that battle with no permanent injuries.

"Um…what happened after I got shot anyways?" Asuka asked, a little reluctant to talk about the battle now.

"The other Eva eventually got up and left. Captain Yamato ordered us back to base and here we are. Misato is with all the senior staff trying to figure this whole situation out but they're not having much luck on figuring out how this happened. According to Dr. Washington, Eva-04 was supposed to have been destroyed…but now its here and we have no idea how it got to here. The current theory is that somebody stole it and used an explosion as a cover-up. The Colonel said he would launch an investigation but he said he's uncertain of where to even start with it."

"Greeattt…" Asuka groaned as she rolled her eyes. "And I thought Angels were going to be the worst of our problems." It was a sentiment shared by everybody at NERV. Dealing with a collection of monstrous beings might've been challenging but at least they weren't nearly as organized as a human-led operation. "Could you find a nurse and let them know I'm awake – I want to see a doctor so I can get cleared and discharged as soon as possible." Shinji promptly took that as his cue to make himself scarce, unless he wished to annoy an already agitated Asuka even further. "What an idiot…" Asuka muttered bitterly once he was gone.

"He sat by your bed for nearly an hour after the mission ended," Rei commented.

"That's cause he's a moron who believes that a close proximity means that he cares more," Asuka retorted cynically, rolling onto her side so that her back was facing Rei. "The fact that you were here just made the things easier for him."

"He believes if he doesn't make a choice, he can keep everybody happy."

"Hm, for once we can agree on something…" As much as she hated to admit it…her chances weren't looking too good in that respect. The room fell silent as Asuka curled her limbs closer to her body, which still ached with every breath. For the first time in years, she had been victorious in battle…she had saved the day…so why didn't it feel like victory? She thought that even after all this time it would still be important to her but maybe, just maybe, it wasn't what she wanted anymore. And, of course, the one thing she did want wasn't going to be hers cause Little-Miss-Perfect was going to outdo her as usual.

_"I was an idiot to think this could've worked…"_


	16. Chapter 15: How Did We Get to Here?

**Chapter Fifteen: How Did We Get to Here?**

"Hmm…Barry White? Nope – it's too up-front. Maybe some of Tchaikovsky's Fantasy Overture. Actually that's too slow. Great, this is what I get for having such a limited taste in music," Kyo sighed in defeat as he flipped through the last of his music collection. He had spent the last little while getting things ready for later that day for a particularly…special event of his own devising. Just thinking about this plan made him chuckle lightly to himself – a simple but eloquent plan. All the other residents of the condo were still out so Kyo had plenty of privacy and time to get everything just perfect.

"Maybe if I just fast-forward Tchaikovsky to the good part then it'll be more effective," Kyo reluctantly concluded after another long pause of thought. He grabbed the CD and headed over to the stereo system to get it all set up. He ran the last of his checks just to make sure everything was in working order before he smiled to himself, satisfied with the end results. Before he could take a few moments to even enjoy the fruits of his labour when there came a knocking at the door. Checking his watch, he worried for a brief moment that somebody might be arriving a little on the early side…but it was way too early for any of the others to be coming home. Curious, Kyo headed to answer the door and he was rather surprised to see Misato waiting on the side of it.

"Hey there Kyo," she greeted politely as she leaned against the doorframe.

"Oh right, you must've just gotten my message, huh?" Kyo replied, realizing what she was here to talk about…though a quick five-second phone call would've sufficed.

"Bingo. You don't have to worry about anything, I have a meeting with my commander in a few hours so I won't be in your way at all."

"You came all the way over here just to tell me that?" Kyo asked, sensing that there was more to this visit than she was letting on.

"Judy's been growing on me these past few months, I just want to make sure that the guy she's going out with is all right. I never had anyone to be overly protective about so you don't mind if I shunt most of it onto Judy?"

"So you're here to grill me about my intentions, huh? I don't really think it's any of your concern being that you're only her guardian in a legal aspect. It's not like she's family or anything."

"I have intention on making this my business Kyo and I'm sure Shinji has told you about how seriously I take business, isn't that right?" Misato glared harshly as she leaned in slightly just to intimidate Kyo further, which worked very, very effectively. He had doubted Shinji at first but this proved that his friend wasn't exaggerating – those eyes of her really were paralyzing. Kyo only managed a very slow, short nod in response. "Very good. So how many dates has it been now?"

"About four 'official' and another three or four friendly encounters," Kyo answered meekly. "My intentions are pure, I swear."

"Sure they are, I used to be a teenager as well you know."

_"And Shinji said part of you had never grown out of that either,"_ Kyo mentally replied, not daring to utter such a potential offensive remark to a woman who could probably make him disappear without a trace with a call to the UN. "Well she wouldn't let if even if I wanted – she holds onto her values very strongly. She's insisted on staying chaste until marriage."

"So you've already tried to talk her into it?"

"What? No!" Kyo hastily defended himself. "We were having a talk about religious values and autonomy and the influence the family life has over them."

"You were having a philosophical discussion…with a girl who looks like that? You're not really a repressed homosexual are you?" Misato queried with a slightly confused tilt of her head.

"So now you do want me to talk about it? Make up your mind Misato."

"I don't want you try anything, I never said I didn't want you to not think about it. I mean…come on, for a girl who's been homeless for a while she's certainly got a lot in the looks department." Well that was something Kyo could agree upon without fear of reprisal. However, his attraction to Judy was not held primarily on the physical level, though it did help facilitate things. The conversations they've had have been some of the most intellectually rewarding discussions he's ever had the benefit of enjoying. The best thing about it was that after a few weeks you can touch back on the same issue as before and bring up any new points discovered since the last debate. "If you don't mind me asking one last thing…if you're going to be using my condo for later today, why are you sprucing up this one so much?"

Kyo took a look back. There were some newly added vases with roses already in them, a number of candles scattered around the room, and the living room lights had been fitted with a new dimmer switch. "Oh that, um...Shinji asked me to set it up for him. I think he's got something planned."

"Shinji planning? Hm. I never would've pegged him as somebody to go for something for such a…romantic setting. I guess the past four years had done him better than I thought."

"Indeed now if you don't mind I need to get prepared to vacate the area before Shinji gets here."

"Oh right, how silly of me. Take care and be sure not to make a huge mess at my place," Misato laughed softly before waving good-bye and heading on her way back to her place. Kyo checked his watch again and figured he still had a relative safe time margin to get ready for his own plans and leave. He was quite relieved that Misato bought most of his story…especially the part about Shinji asking him to set this up. Shinji was going to be in for just as much of a surprise. Now all that was needed was to set up a few last candles and get the music in position, then he could get himself ready and be on his way.

---------------------

"Still got ten minutes to spare. Kyo, ma man, you are one smooooth devil," he chuckled coyly again as he fitted the last buttons on his shirt. The stage was all set up and prepared and all it needed now were its key players. Just as Kyo was on his way out, his arrival into the living room was met with a most unexpected sight. "Rei! What are you doing here?"

Standing in the middle of the living room, looking at the back of the CD case that Kyo had left out next to the stereo was the blue-haired teen who was not supposed to be here for at least another twenty minutes and, more importantly, not by herself. She seemed a little surprised at Kyo's confusion, though not quite as much as the condition that she found their living room to be in. "I live here, why are you so surprised?" she simply answered.

"I mean why are you here so early? I thought Shinji was going to pick you up and bring you back here."

"I was discharged a little early. I figured I'd save him the trouble and come here early. Besides…I wanted to speak to you about a few things before I spoke with Shinji."

"Um, listen…Shinji's going to be here real soon when he realizes that you aren't here and he's probably going to have a few things to say to you when he gets here. So how about you just hold off on having your conversation with me and wait until you've had the one with Shinji? I'm sure his is going to be infinitely more important than whatever you might want to say to me." It seemed his ingenious plan to lure the two teens into an empty condo with a romantic atmosphere had hit an unexpected snag. Perhaps it was not quite that ingenious after all. The plan was supposed to be that Shinji and Rei arrive _together_ so they would both be surprised by their living room at the same time. Now one was here already and everything was going to thrown off-rhythm.

"Actually, it's about Shinji that I want to talk to you."

"Listen, I kind of have to get going – I have to meet Judy in life five minutes and she hates to be kept waiting," Kyo replied, trying to think of any excuse to get out of the condo right now.

"Please…it's important," Rei insisted. Something about her tone didn't give Kyo a good feeling and he didn't like where this conversation was going at all.

"Tell me you're not going to say what I think you're going to say. Please tell me that you are not thinking of pulling out on him." Rei didn't say anything at first, which only confirmed what Kyo was worried about. "For crying out loud! Where the heck did that thought process come from? You two are **perfect** for each other and you're getting cold feet? What could possibly be giving you second thoughts now? Are you two frigging secretly related or something?" Once again, Rei simply averted her gaze from Kyo with an increasingly concerned expression on her face.

"Well…fuck."

"It's more complicated than that. I need to talk to him about it."

"No, no, no! This is impossible. I've known Shinji for most of my life and he did not have any siblings of any kind, nor did he have any female cousins. Shinji's father might've been a complete asshole but there was no way that he could've been having an affair on Shinji's mother. There's just no way that could've happened…and you're too close in age for it to have been his mother. I…you have to be wrong."

"I…I'm not sure. I've been trying to figure it out for myself but…I suppose part of me didn't want to think about it. I was…happy with him," Rei answered softly.

"You…you can't be serious. You're going to run on some paranoid belief that you two are somehow sharing the same gene pool?" Kyo, of course, was oblivious to Rei's true origins and she was not about to give him the lengthy explanation of it. "You can't just turn away after leading him on for four years! You have idea what this is going to do to him?"

"It can't be as bad if I'm right…"

"You wanna gamble on that? You weren't there when his dad walked out on him – I was! I had to be there to pick up the pieces his dad left behind. Shinji has got huge abandonment issues and I don't think he can cope with yet another rejection from the only living person who means something more to him. I swear to God, if you tell him this you are going to crush his entire heart and soul. I can't guarantee what'll happen afterwards…he could go ballistic for all I know."

Rei didn't answer right away…she didn't have an answer for him. Kyo couldn't understand the mental debate she had been going through for the past four years. That…connection with Yui was not something that she could just shake from her head. She couldn't confirm it unfortunately but she could ignore it either. Finally, she simply looked back up at Kyo and then looked at something past him. "Why does it smell like lavender in here?"

"Ah crap! Shinji's going to be here any minutes now and I spent five hours yesterday just convincing trying to convince him to talk to you about how he feels. If he sees you here and you tell him that you'll crush him and if he sees me here he's going to want to kill me. You have to take some time to think this over. We have to get you outta here!" Kyo quickly tried to avert this potential disaster as he began shoving Rei towards the exit. "I'll take you back to Misato's and then I can talk some sense back into you. I'm not letting my two friends ruin everything over an unfounded fear."

Alas, while Rei did not struggle against him leading her out of the room the moment the pair reached the door it opened up to reveal Shinji on his way in. Kyo froze on the spot once again while Shinji just stared flabbergasted at the sight he was seeing. "What is going on here?" he asked curiously.

"Emergency just came up…I have to take Rei down to the, um, pharmacy. Yeah, she's starting to come down with something and she wants some cough medicine," Kyo promptly lied. He seemed to be doing a lot of that today and it was getting a little irritating.

"You said you were going to be with Judy this afternoon," Shinji replied.

"Yeah, that thing…um…"

"You shouldn't keep Judy waiting," Rei interrupted. "I'll be fine. You should go to Judy before she's kept waiting for you." Kyo was reluctant to move at first but Rei gave him a reassuring look that sent him quietly on his way. He wasn't too thrilled about this…it was like watching two trains about to hit in slow-motion – you want to stop it but there's not a damn thing you can do about it except pick up the pieces after it's all over.

"So…um, what the heck did Kyo do this place?" Shinji asked as he kicked off his shoes and headed inside the living room. He had a feeling Kyo would have some sort of surprise waiting for him when he got home but he wasn't quite expecting something to this level. "That kid tries way too hard some days," he added with a chuckle.

"He felt it was going to be the only way to get you to make a decision," Rei answered as she took a seat on the couch. "And…I need to talk about that with you as well."

"M-make a decision?' Shinji never really considered it so much as a decision as just when he would get the guts to admit to how he felt. Now this conversation wasn't going in the direction that he had always hoped it would and the subtle tone that Rei was using wasn't instilling the greatest of confidence in him.

"I…don't think this is a good idea – us I mean. I believe you still have some personal feelings to sort out."

Those words hit Shinji like a face full of sharp, pointy rocks. "P-personal feelings? What are you talking about?"

"After the last mission, you were by Asuka's side almost every second of the way. Even when she was unconscious for hours you refused to leave her bedside. Those are not the actions of a person who's just a friends…those are the actions of somebody who's deathly afraid of losing that person."

"N-no! She almost died, I was worried about her!"

"I've seen you worried Shinji. I've also seen you repressing your feelings before." While Shinji might not realize it, the conversation was actually just as hard on her as it was for him to hear. "I…think Asuka would be a better person for you to be with. She can offer you something I can't."

"I…can't believe you're actually saying that Rei. Okay I'll admit four years ago I might've felt something for her but that was a long time ago." This situation didn't make for Shinji. It wasn't like Rei to act like this…it was too irrational, or at least too irrational in his mind. It didn't fit with her behavior of the past four years after all. "There's something you're not telling me…"

---------------------

"How long have they been in there?" Judy whispered quietly as she and Kyo watched the door of his condo from down the hall and around the corner.

"Fifteen minutes. Either Shinji's done something completely new and managed to change her mind…or Shinji's just taking his time in accepting what about to happen," Kyo replied after checking his watch. The pair had been monitoring the situation for a while…Kyo was just too worried about his friends to ignore this and, thankfully, Judy could understand and sympathize with this concern. "I can't believe Rei's actually doing this…"

"Poor Shinji. To come so far and then have her run away like this. Why do you think she's doing it?"

"Probably a bit of the reasons she gave me, maybe a bit of Shinji's lingering feelings for Asuka, and a lot to do with the fact that this is completely foreign territory for her. Rei's not a person who likes to travel into such unknown areas of life without some sort of safety net…and there's no such thing in a relationship. The only thing either of them wouldn't be able to handle would be going into this relationship and then screwing it up because Rei doesn't know how to handle intimacy. It'd probably be the only thing worse than having to reject him. In the end, she thinks it'll be in Shinji's best interest to be with a girl that's…normal."

"Normal's overrated. Crazy people at least make things a little interesting."

"You find me crazy?"

"Yes…but not in the 'I'm going to hack you up and put your face in my freezer' sort of way. Just the 'dance around the house in a giant bear costume' sort of insanity."

"Is there something I should know about you?"

"Kyo – door!" Judy quickly changed the conversation back to the important matter at hand when she spotted the condo door sliding open. Shinji emerged and unfortunately he had that walk that did not instill a good feeling in the two observers. "Oh dear…she pushed him away. The poor thing."

"This is a complete disaster…this wasn't how things were supposed to go. I have to talk to Rei!"

"What about Shinji?"

"You talk to Shinji – you're good at calming people down." Judy nodded in agreement and quickly hurried down the hall after Shinji. Judy was a little concerned at how she would be able to help poor Shinji – unlike the others she didn't know him that well nor did Shinji know her very well. Kyo's reassurance did help her confidence a little bit. While she might not be the most convincing of people she was good at calming people down…it was just a weird effect she had on people. When she caught up to him, he was halfway down the stairs. She could tell that when he turned his head to see who was coming, there was that brief glimmer of hope that he was going to see Rei standing behind him and that disappointment returned to his face afterwards.

"Don't tell me you already know…" Shinji muttered bitterly.

"Um…sorta. Kyo only told some of the details," Judy answered a bit hesitantly.

"Of course, how silly of me to assume that I was the first to hear about this. Kyo knows everything apparently…so was he just waiting for me to get blind-sided like that or was it all part of his master plan?" Shinji was a little hostile, with due reason, and Judy could understand why Kyo didn't want to face him just yet. It was only because Shinji tried to remain a little civil around Judy, since she had nothing to do with this, was he sparing her the full brunt of his frustrations.

"Well, he only found out a few minutes before he had to leave…he wanted to say something but he said Rei wouldn't let him," Judy explained, which immediately reminded Shinji of the little exchange between Kyo and Rei just when he arrived at the condo. He had thought their behavior was a little peculiar and perhaps under normal circumstances he would've noticed Kyo's subtle behavior change. "Listen, I know I don't know what's going on exactly but…I'm sure it's not as bad as it might seem to you at first."

"No…she's right. I'm not ready for this yet."

"She just doesn't want to see you get hurt Shinji..."

"Kind of late for that," he added grimly before he started on his way down the stairs again.

"Wait, where are you going?"

"Don't know…don't care. Just go back to Kyo and tell him that I'll be back some time later tonight when I've figured things out." Judy sighed in defeat when Shinji disappeared down the stairs and she headed back to check on Kyo. When she returned to the condo, Kyo was already standing outside, still with that concerned expression on his face.

"I take it you didn't have much luck with Rei either?" Judy asked reluctantly.

"She…was crying, or at least on the verge of doing so. Never thought I'd see something like that from her. This isn't hopeless just yet – she cares about him a lot…maybe even loves him; she's just…not sure what do anymore. She didn't even tell Shinji the reason she gave me…"

"What are we going to do now?"

"Nothing unfortunately. The only thing anybody can do is just take the rest of the evening to contemplate on things and hope that one of them realizes the mistake that's been made and goes to fix it."

"And if that doesn't happen?"

"Then maybe I'll try forcing them both to face the issue rather than continually hide from it. Maybe a part of her is right though…maybe Shinji isn't quite ready to commit himself."


	17. Chapter 16: Watch Your Step

**Chapter Sixteen: Watch Your Step**

"Would anybody care to tell me how we wound having to put three Evas into the repair shop and encountering one, bloody renegade Eva?" Colonel Musashi was understandable pissed off with the results of the battle. "It was three on one!"  
"Actually sir, it was more like three one-on-ones. Our numerical advantage was immediately gone the moment Captain Yamato gave the order to launch only one of the Evas," Misato answered. The meeting of the senior staff also included Yamato, Washington, Yamashiro, and Ibuki all sitting around the elongated U-shaped table. Across the projector screen were various stills of the previous sortie against Eva-04, primarily scenes that showed each of NERV's Evas being seriously damaged.

"In my defense, I was following the Colonel's instructions to exercise the best judgment when it came to deployment and that I should refrain from deploying Eva-01 until all risks of that Eva have been analyzed. The only mistake I made, Lt. Colonel, was over-estimating the competency of the pilots you spoke so highly of." Yamato obviously wasn't in the mood to be fingered as the person responsible for this disaster, though there was plenty of blame to be shared around the table.

"They are used to fighting Angels – rogue Evas are a much different breed of enemy. You were in charge of coordinating the mission and you barely did anything to help the pilots."

"That is because there was no stratagem that would've helped them. It was a straight out fight and they were handling it the best they could, which obviously wasn't enough. If you want me to hold their hands every step of the way you're going to have a lot of problem with the way I run this position."

"That's enough both of you," the Colonel spoke up to halt the argument between the two senior officers. "I have reviewed the reports thoroughly enough to know that Captain Yamato acted as best he could given the circumstances. Our problem was with pilots who have been outside of a combat duty for too long and Evangelions that are behind on the technological curve. I have asked Dr. Washington to give us a more thorough report on what to expect if we ever encounter this rogue Eva again." The Colonel, who had been the only standing at the moment, went to take a seat while Washington took the floor. The projector promptly switched images to an old schematic diagram of the Evangelion Unit-04.

"First off I'd like to apologize for not being able to provide better intelligence during the sortie – the details regarding Eva-04 had always been a touchy subject and I had spent the past four years trying to forget as much about that project as possible. While most of the documents concerning Eva-04 were destroyed along the Nevada branch of NERV, I've managed to pull together what I can from my personal archives," Washington said to start off his little presentation. At the same time he handed out a small file folder to everyone else at the table, which contained said information for their personal reading. "As I'm sure you are aware of, the United States have always prided themselves on developing the most technologically advance of anything in the field of weapons and technology, or at least trying to. The Eva Uniit-04 was supposed to be exactly that – an Evangelion designed to replace the models that we currently use. For those of you who remember, the mass-produced Evangelion units that attacked NERV four years ago were actually descendants of the technology derived in the creation of Eva-04."

"So what abilities does this Eva have over our own?" Yamato asked, hoping to get a more practical answer out of this lengthy explanation.

"Aside from an independent energy source, superior strength, speed, dexterity, and handling systems…it's also got minor regeneration capabilities, boosted synchronization rates, enhanced musculoskeletal system, and had a prototype armour plating that we had also developed."

"Oh…great. Regeneration. That means they'll have that fixed in no time," Yamato grumbled.

"Well they'd need to replace the lost armour plating and I wouldn't be surprised if they stole the documents on how to make the armour when they stole Eva-04. Still, the armour was designed because we knew NERV would have the resources needed for the rather expensive and time-consuming process. The armour is only marginally better and takes a fair bit of time to forge compared to the armour we use. It's only major advantage is that it handles energy-based attacks a lot better than conventional armour plating, which you guys can easily beat by using conventional firearms."

Well that was some good news, though it wasn't the best. A bulk of the powerful weapons at NERV was energy-based since it was so much easier to manufacture and store compared to a solid-ammunition weapon. One shot from the heavy cannon that Shinji used in the last sortie cost about nine million yen, which was much more than what it cost to charge up a battery cell for their laser rifles. The only solid-ammunition weapons they still used were heavy cannons, utilizing an explosive, armour-piercing round – anything smaller was useless against Angels.

"Are there any limitations in the Eva-04 that we can exploit in the next sortie?"

"It's a little heavier than a standard Eva but without a power cable that doesn't really matter. Umm…" It was hard to think of something as complex as exploitable weaknesses. As he had mentioned earlier, he had worked hard to forget about it and the several dozen bottles of vodka he went through over the years helped a lot. "The operating system was a lot more complex and rather finicky. The others were trying to improve on an operating system but they didn't finish it so it was full of bugs."

"What sort of detriments would that cause?" Lt. Ibuki asked.

"None if you knew how to operate it properly but that would take a lot of experience and proper training."

"So why are you telling us this?" Yamato inquired.

"Cause it means whoever is piloting it, has been at it for a lot longer than the last four years. Whoever stole this would need to have stolen a lot more than hardware to get a pilot able to perform as well as that one did from scratch."

"Are you suggesting that it might have been your original test pilot in there?"

"Not likely – our original attempt at creating a new operating system went south pretty fast. It had major detrimental effects…we had to discharge our first pilot a week before the incident because of a massive mental breakdown."

"Breakdown?" Yamashiro asked curiously. "How bad of one?"

"Complete loss of any sense of reality – literally started talking to the walls. A new pilot was brought in like a day before I left to report to the UN. Um…never got the kid's name and any files with it would've been disintegrated along with the rest of the base. The only place where you could find that information is in the databases where the original list of eligible pilots was kept."

"Which, knowing our luck, was either destroyed or confiscated by the UN," Misato groaned in annoyance.

"I think it was a sibling…if that's any help."

"Not really," the deputy commander sighed. Some answers and a lot more questions…that was generally on par for anything that happened in NERV, at least by Misato's experience. "How about we spend a little less worrying about who's behind the seat of that Eva and who are the puppeteers. Housing and deploying an Eva would require an incredibly large amount of resources…that level of procurement would leave a paper trail."

"Except that a certain incident eighteen years ago will make things a little difficult. If this ZELLE played its cards right it could dropped off the radar in the chaos that followed," Yamato explained. "And…if I may be so bold as to say, this ZELLE probably had some very big backers."

"Why do you think that captain?"

"Because…if an explosion was used to cover-up the theft of Eva-04, they would've had to use one gigantic bomb to do so. Any radiation would've immediately sent up a red flag…so that leaves only one kind of warhead that could've left that kind of impact in Nevada."

"An N2 mine. Those things don't just disappear."

"Unless it never existed on paper," Yamato smirked, his tone alluding to a conspiracy. "More than one thousand N2 mines were ordered by the UN in the past decade alone. All you'd need is a mine to be labeled as 'defective' and you've got a mine that no longer has a paper trail on it. Now, you'd obviously need to be somebody very important for such a plan to work so like I said…I think we're dealing with somebody who has a lot of resources under their belt. We shouldn't be treating this like some small-time mob organization with an over-sized toy at their disposal – we treat them like an equal and we crush them accordingly."

"Meaning?" Misato asked, hoping for some clarification.

"Meaning that the next time that son of a bitch silver Eva shows itself, I want it either destroyed or followed until we find where it's base is and then we destroy that!"

"I don't think the UN is going to approve of that sir," Ibuki remarked.

"Then we don't ask them…like I said, ZELLE is backed by somebody…somebody big. We can't trust that the UN is completely clean. Therefore, we handle it ourselves, which means our techies are going to have to build some little submarines for us to follow it in and we're going to need some underwater weaponry if it gets down to that."

"That's a pretty tall order Captain," Misato reminded him.

"That's why only the Chief of Operations can make such a request…oh wait, that's me. Unless somebody has a major complaint to this plan, I suggest we stick to it."

"How exactly would be go underwater and destroy them if we don't have the UN's support?" Ibuki asked.

"Our Evas can swim just need him to give it some kind of harpoon gun."

"Anything else Captain Ahab?" Misato sarcastically remarked.

"Not that I can think of…"

---------------------

His fingertip ran along the brim of his glass idly while his gaze was cast into the pool of golden brown liquid within it, watching the dozens of bubbles rise to the surface. Shinji sat at the bar, hunched over his drink, wondering where everything went wrong? How did he not see something like this coming? It didn't make any sense the more he thought about it. If she had any signs of not being…happy with him she surely would've said something about it sooner. Shinji knew he wasn't that bad at reading people…in fact he's gotten better at it in the past few years. Every sign that he was confident he had read correctly pointed towards the exact opposite of what she had said to him. It felt like a nightmare. What made things worse was that it seemed like everybody knew before he did – Kyo knew, apparently Judy knew, and he wouldn't be surprised if Misato and Asuka find out about this in a few hours when they come home. Misato would probably freak out when she hears about it and Asuka would just have a laugh at his expense. Shinji figured he could hide at this small watering hole, located a couple of blocks from where he lived, for a few hours while he settled down. He couldn't go to any of his usual places because the others would find him and then one of them would find him and start trying to console him or something. He did not want nor need consoling right now - he just needed to get drunk off his ass. It always seemed to do Misato good when she wasn't feeling that great.

Now Shinji wasn't new to drinking – he had shared a few drinks with Kyo during his senior year. Normally Shinji would've wanted his friend here but he would just try and interfere with things as usual. Shinji was beginning to really get annoyed with Kyo's constant meddling with his affairs – why did he think he could mess with Shinji's life? Shinji certainly didn't ask for his help and things were going fine without it.

"What are you doing here? I didn't know you drank by yourself," spoke a familiar voice behind him. Hardly having the willpower to even see who it was, he casually glanced to the side to see Asuka taking a seat next to him.

"Please tell me that you were actually being serious there," Shinji remarked after a long pause.

"I was…what's crawled up your ass and made camp?"

"Nothing." At least she hadn't been sent here for him or came to mock him. Apparently it was just a freak coincidence that she stopped by for a drink. "I didn't think you drank alone either."

"Long day at the office," she explained before waving down the bartender. "As for the alone part, I'm only alone as long I choose to be if you catch my drift." Her remark was followed by a sly chuckle and an order for a pint. Made sense – an 18-year-old like her drinking alone would attract guys like nectar to the bees. At least she wasn't going to be bothering him about a certain subject he didn't want to think too much about. "Where's everyone else?"

"They're busy," Shinji lied as he took a long sip of his beer.

"So why are you here then? People don't usually drink alone without a good reason. If people are busy they just wait until they're free." The timely arrival of her drink gave her something to do while she waited for Shinji's response, which was likely going to follow yet another long pause between the two of them.

"I just needed some time to myself," he finally answered right on schedule.

"I'll take that as the universal sign for 'I've had a bad day'," Asuka added dryly. "Should I leave you to wallow in your misery then?"

"No…you can stay," Shinji interrupted just as Asuka was in the process of getting up. Maybe it'd be in his best interest to at least have somebody here that he knew. He couldn't just shut himself out altogether, right? Kyo once said that getting close required nerves of steel, blind trust, and a willingness to fall flat on your face if you screw up. Knowledge was power and between two close friends, each person wielded absolute knowledge over the other and thus, absolute power. The potential to complete destroy them was there…but so was the potential to bring unbridled joy. In Shinji's case he gambled and lost…Kyo's gamble with Judy seemed to be paying off very nicely. For Shinji, it was hard to trust when the people that were supposed to have stood by you abandoned you instead. Kyo was one of the few people that he started to trust when he was younger and even then Kyo made sure to keep a safe distance, not only for Shinji's sake but his own. Absolute trust took a while to build and Kyo like to play things safe even when he was taking giant risks. Shinji remembered hearing somebody make analogy to a hedgehog. Kyo always seemed to analog it to three space charges in a row with an unlike charge in the center – so long as each charge stayed right where it was supposed to everything remained in balance and everyone was comfortable. Each one was as close as their pre-defined natures would allow and things only got bad if one of the charges moved out of the way, otherwise everything was, for a lack of a better word, perfect. Shinji, unfortunately, moved and the system cascaded.

"How long have you been here?"

"I don't know…I think like half an hour."

"And you've got that much done? God you're a slow drinker," Asuka scoffed before she gulped a mouthful of her beer.

"I want to savour the flavour if you don't mind."

"What Japanese eighteen-year-old would know about savouring?" Asuka remarked as she grabbed Shinji's drink from his hand and took a quick sip of it. The frown that followed it was an obvious sign of disapproval. "You're savouring donkey piss Shinji. If you're going to do it slowly have something decent – try this."

"I like that beer," Shinji defended as Asuka slid her drink over to him, though she ignored his comments. Reluctantly Shinji took a quick sip from her drink and let the taste linger in his mouth for a while. "Hm…that's not bad actually."

"Not bad he says," she replied mockingly. "I've been living in a German university dorm for the past four years, I think I know a thing or two about what a good beer is. But what do I know? I'm only a genius."

"Now give me my drink back," Shinji grumbled as he grabbed his glass back. "Mind if I ask about a particular sensitive subject?"

"Depends - how badly do you want to be smacked upside the head?" Her tone hinted at her distaste to this potential line of questioning. "I'm probably going to regret this but…fine. Ask at your own risk." Something told her she'd need plenty of alcohol in preparation so she promptly chugged down a third of her drink. Maybe if she got drunk enough she wouldn't care what he asked.

"What did you do when you realized that Kaji wasn't ever going to return your feelings?"

The K-word - just what she needed. Asuka obviously didn't like thinking about that topic very much. There was no reason for her to continue it except maybe for that small voice at the back of her mind telling her to not be afraid. It might've just been the alcohol nagging at her as well. "If I was old enough I would've gotten plastered," she answered calmly before taking a few more sips. "I was…upset…mostly with myself. I felt like an idiot and I'm pretty sure you can recall just how anti-social I was."

"I can still remember where the bruises were," Shinji replied in a quiet mutter. Not exactly a high point in either of their lives.

"Now you're not inquisitive like Kyo so you're obviously asking me this for a reason," Asuka mused, trying to figure out Shinji's motives. He merely mentally sighed with the realization that Asuka was a bit too much on the smart side to be have just let the question be. Why did everybody always have to look at things at a deeper level? At least it wasn't Kyo grilling him with questions…he'd be absolutely relentless. "So the only reason you'd be asking is if you were in a similar situation."

"Please don't go there Asuka…"

"Now you don't need to be genius to know who you've got your eyes on."

"Seriously – don't."

"What did Rei say to you?"

"I don't want to talk about it," he said bitterly before occupying himself with a long sip.

"You wouldn't have asked me if you hadn't expected this to happen," Asuka replied with a rather convincing tone. Perhaps if the alcohol hadn't been getting to him already he would've seen right through such a silver tongue. "Come on. you know you want to let it out," she added, giving him a gentle nudge of encouragement. "What's the worst that could happen?"

---------------------

The morning sunlight was piercing through the small cracks of the blinds; the streak of golden light crept across the floor as the minutes ticked by from the early dawn until it was strategically positioned right over Shinji's eyes. God, why did the light always find you when you didn't want to see it? Slowly, the young lad rolled over to see what the alarm clock on his bedside table said…except that it was missing and there was a half-empty box of tissues in its place. Now when did that get there? And part of him didn't want to know why half of it was missing as well. Come to think of it…he couldn't quite recall what had happened last night after the fourth drink. Or was it the fifth? He sort of lost count of how many he was having after he was practically downing whole bottles between his angst-ridden confessions.

Trying to think of the last things in his memory, a few hazy images starting popping up. He did manage to walk back home, though he had to use Asuka as support for a bulk of the trip. He was getting close to sobering up, at least to the point where his memory was going to start working. He…remembered watching Asuka stumble into her room and collapse onto her bed without even closing the door, which was very unlike the sober her.

While remembering the last moments with Asuka was a little reassuring, he was trying to recall if he said anything with Rei. The last thing he wanted to do was say something stupid to Rei while he was in his drunken stupor and a little…angry with her. Why did he have to drink so much? It was bad enough that his headache was pounding so damn badly and that he was left wondering just how badly he could've screwed things up with Rei in his inebriated state but he also had something in his mouth…felt like…hair.

"What did I do last night?" Shinji muttered as he promptly pulled out the strands…moments before realizing that they were not short, black hairs as he was expecting. They were long…and red. Worry turned to dread when the weight in his bed gradually shifted and the hairs were gently pulled away from his fingers. His eyes followed them all the way back to the slumbering girl laying next to him and, judging by the looks of things, completely naked. Now that he thought about it…he was naked too. He took a very quick peek under the sheets just to confirm. _"Yup, definitely nothing on."_

Threat level has now been upgraded to zesty nacho orange.

"Oh…fuck me."

"Mmm…no more...I'm tired…"

Maybe apricot red would be a more accurate assestment.

Then there was a knocking at his door. "Shinji, it's Rei. Listen…I really need to talk to you…"

Never mind – Shinji needed to move to a whole new part of the spectrum.


	18. Chapter 17: Emptiness

**Chapter Seventeen: Emptiness**

"Shinji, are you awake?" Rei's innocently oblivious and pleading voice froze Shinji on the spot. How could've things have turned out this way? If Rei came in now and saw Asuka laying her half-awake, albeit apparently satisfied, slumber, any chance for Shinji to possibly patch things up with Rei would go up in flames. Asuka probably wasn't going to be too thrilled when she wakes up to see Shinji lying next to her bed in bed either. Maybe if his door had a proper lock he could just pretend to be asleep and wait for Rei to go away but chances were she'd take a peak inside if she heard no answer from him.

"Just a second," Shinji answered, keeping his voice down in hopes that the sleeping dragon beside him would stay that way. This brought a whole new meaning to 'getting in bed with the devil'. "Now where are my shorts?" he muttered almost inaudibly to himself as he scanned about the room to find an article of clothing on-hand. He felt some cloth beneath his leg and promptly pulled the article out – he was half-successful. It was a pair of undergarments, unfortunately just not his. "I had always imagined my first encounter with these would've been a little less terrifying…"

A few minutes later, Shinji's bedroom door slowly slid open just enough for Shinji to poke his head through and ensure that Rei saw nothing that was actually inside. While Rei was one of the last people he wanted to see right now at least it wasn't Kyo, who would probably see right through Shinji's little ploy. "Um…good morning Rei. Uh, what can I do for you?" Shinji reminded himself repeatedly to keep his cool, not to act suspicious, and also not to push Rei as if her presence was unwanted.

"I want to talk to you about…what I said last night," Rei said cautiously, seemingly to be just as uncertain of what to say as Shinji was. "It's just that…um, did I catch you at a bad time?"

"Well I'm not really wearing any pants," Shinji explained, hoping that Rei would take the polite course of action and excuse herself. "And as you can imagine I spent most of last night trying to forget what you said over several pints so talking and light aren't exactly very pleasant to me."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I just wanted to say that-"

"Achtung…"

At first Shinji hoped that the groans of the waking German weren't loud enough for Rei to hear. Alas, she stopped mid-sentence and Shinji petrified like a deer in headlights. "Was…that Asuka?"

"Um…no. It was…my computer running."

"So talking to me and the hallway lights bother you but your laptop's backlit screen and volume doesn't?" Things were starting to fall apart all around Shinji and he was scrambling to just find a place to stand for more than five seconds. Rather than waiting for an excuse, Rei slid the door open, revealing the awakening Asuka in Shinji's bed. Disastrous did not begin to describe the situation for Shinji and he mentally braced for an exchange of words between her palm and his face. It did look as though she was about to but instead she turned about and stormed off – whether in anger or sadness was uncertain with her stoic mannerisms. Shinji wanted to give chase but by the time he got over his indecisiveness, Rei had left their condo and Shinji wasn't going to chase after her in his boxers.

"Just…great…" Shinji groaned as he hung his head in defeat.

"Morning," she murmured groggily. It was difficult for her to know how to express herself at this moment. Being moody or angry would probably make him feel less confused but it was hard to be angry with him for something she wanted. Expressing what she was feeling would just throw Shinji into more confusion. "I guess you'll want to be left in your own self-pity?"

"Do you remember what happened last night?" It would be difficult to apologize to Rei later if he didn't have a firm idea of what had happened the night before to apologize about. He wanted to blame Asuka for this but he was angrier at himself.

"Um…sorta," Asuka admitted reluctantly. "You kept drinking for about an hour after I stopped. We got back…we were both pretty tipsy and you were feeling really neglected and I stupidly decided to try and help."

"I preferred it when you just taunted me with disdain when I screwed up."

"Fine, I'll go back to be bitchy," Asuka scoffed, feeling a little insulted. Climbing out of bed, she started getting dressed so she could leave Shinji to his loathing. She could tell that he really wanted to be alone right now, or at the very least there was nothing that she could do to help him right now. After throwing on a shirt, she gathered the rest of her things and left to retreat to her own bedchambers, or at least that's what she had hoped for. After only two steps out of the door, she noticed Kyo leaning against the wall right next to her bedroom door.

"Unfortunately the walls here are paper-thin so there's not really any place we talk in private," Kyo remarked. To no surprise, he didn't sound too pleased with Asuka's actions the night before.

"Then we can at least go into my room so I can put some pants on," Asuka replied as she continued on her way. Kyo didn't argue with her request but after closing the door behind him, he simply continued to stare at it and give Asuka the privacy she might've wanted. "Don't tell me you're going to give me hell for last night as well."

"I just want to know why."

"I thought a smart guy like you would know what alcohol does to a person."

"Shinji could've been so wasted that he couldn't tell the difference between a vagina and a hole in the wall and he still would've gone to sleep alone," Kyo remarked sternly. "Which means you did something…so again I ask, why?"

"And again I reply 'alcohol' or did you not hear me the first time?"

"Alcohol removes inhibitions, which means you act on what's already there. So…how long have you had these feelings for him?"

"Sod off," Asuka muttered. "It's none of your business."

"I'll take that as 'a while now'. Freud would have a field day with you."

"You just pretend to listen to me, don't you?"

"I listen far more than people think, which is why they're always surprised when I pick up on the subtleties," Kyo answered smugly. "Your first time I assume?"

"Wh-what makes you say that?" The changes in her tone hinted at nervousness and surprise…and maybe a hint of embarrassment as well.

"You shouted 'ow' numerous times so that leaves only two possibilities and you don't strike me as a person to go for number two."

"I was…that loud?"

"Shinji was lucky that Rei sleeps like a hibernating grizzly bear and she would've been oblivious if you hadn't caught her attention the way you did. You're a pretty sharp girl…surely you would've heard Shinji talking to Rei." Asuka, still only half-dressed, stopped and frowned harshly towards Kyo…which would've had more effect were he not still staring at the door. The lack of a verbal response, though, told him enough. "I applaud your ingenuity…Shinji thinks Rei's rejecting him and now Rei thinks Shinji is rejecting her. Now all you need to do is make sure that they both don't realize that it doesn't change how they feel about each other."

"Hypothetically speaking, what if that was my intention? What are you intending to do about it?"

"Now normally I wouldn't be too concerned about this and would just back away very slowly before I get caught up in everything but there's more at stake here. When you have the safety of an entire city and more depending on the three of you cooperating, I suppose I must acquiesce to facilitating a solution."

"You realize that you can't help me and Rei at the same time. You're going to make an enemy of one of us."

"Well Rei's already a friend and you and I are only just acquaintances with one another. If you want me to go by the consequences I'll face you won't like what decision I'll come to."

"Then go and help Rei – I have people I can call too."

"I could just help you both," Kyo said, finishing the conversation as he opened the door again. "And see which woman comes out on top."

"Why would you want to help me? I'm the one that's screwing everything up remember?"

"Because I've never been able to turn out a dame in trouble," he chuckled modestly before leaving Asuka to return to wherever the hell he came from.

"And I thought Shinji could be annoying," Asuka muttered bitterly under her breath.

---------------------

Asuka didn't stay around the shared residence for very long. The moment she was dressed she promptly took her leave so that she didn't have to deal with Shinji or Kyo for another moment. She figured a long walk would be sufficient to clear her thoughts so that she take a fresh look at her predicament and come up with a viable solution. The morning air was a welcome change to the stuffy interior of the shared condominium and since the streets were relatively empty in the mornings, she was able to stroll without distraction. Doubt was already beginning to flood her thoughts – did she make the right decision? If Shinji were more observant, or if Kyo told him, her feelings for her long-time friend would become quickly known. It was unlikely Kyo would say anything…he had a tendency to work behind the scenes rather than be confrontational. For the time being, Shinji would attribute the incident to nothing more than his own feelings of rejection combined with one too many drinks. It would only be a matter of time before he put the pieces together and realized just how much Asuka cared for him as well.

There was still hope for her though. Shinji's mind might've been wrapped up with his relationship with Rei but last night wouldn't have happened if there wasn't a shred of emotional connection between the two. Asuka's challenge was going to be to get that shred out into the open and hopefully build it up so much that Shinji forgot about Rei. What was confusing Asuka the most about this was that she was actually feeling a bit…guilty. Was it a wise choice to hurt Shinji like that just for her gain? Maybe it was a little underhanded…but the thought of Shinji being with Rei was just…baffling. What did he see in her? Asuka wondered if it was because Rei might be the only girl that Shinji was actually less passive than. Following that train of reasoning though, could Asuka's own feelings stem from Shinji's passive yet insightful nature? Shinji was one of the first to see right through Asuka. Given the way she always treated him, she sometimes wondered why he still continued to think of her as a friend. There had to be something more than just friendship fueling their continuing relationship.

Still, Rei had four years advantage over Asuka. While she could only talk with Shinji periodically over the phone, Rei had been with him day after day for over a thousand days straight. Asuka had only a few days…maybe a week at most to make up for that and put herself between Rei and Shinji. Not a simple challenge but Asuka had always had to do the hard things in life. If she were looking for an easy life she would've stayed in Germany.

Perhaps a fresh perspective was what she needed. Asuka halted in the middle of the sidewalk and stared up at the apartment complex next to her. Kyo might be able to help her but he didn't know her as well as a certain former classmate of hers did, whose building she stood before.

Heading into the apartment's lobby, she scanned through the tenant listings and eventually found the name she was looking for – Wolfgang von Bismarck. Pressing the black intercom button next to his name, she waited patiently and hoped that her friend was awake.

"Philosophy lounge…how may we direct your paradox?" A young, female voice answered the call.

Asuka rolled her eyes and sighed softly before replying, "Put your brother on Ada."

"Oh brother! The devilot is summoning you," the background conversation was faintly audibly, leading Asuka to continue shaking her head in dismay. At least the other still recognized her...though why she still accused her of being a devilot is beyond her. Then again, if Ada made sense then she wouldn't be insane.

"Guten morgen Asuka," Wolfgang's familiar voice finally emerged from the speaker. "What are you doing here?"

"I need somebody to talk to."

"Door's always open…so to speak. Take the elevator to the sixth floor, apartment six." Asuka hoped that Wolfgang would be able to lend some assistance to her problems…she could always try talking to Hikari if this didn't work. Perhaps if this had been four years ago she would've spoken with Hikari first but now it's been a bit too long for her to just start things off like they had used to be. A loud buzzer from the electronic lock snapped her attention back to the real world and she headed on her way.

Like a number of the apartment complexes in the city, this one was relatively empty. The pristine white walls were free of the scuffmarks of a high-traffic hallway and light blue carpeting was still soft beneath her feet. When she arrived at her friend's apartment, Asuka mentally braced herself for the events that would surely proceed once she opened the door. Seconds after she knocked the door slid open and an unexpected surprise greeted her. Thanks to her quick reflexes, the barrage of foam darts that suddenly launched from the open door grazed passed her and impacted upon the wall.

"Dammit Ada," Asuka grumbled as she remained surprisingly calm and plucked the foam darts off the wall. Standing in the doorway was another young girl, roughly Asuka's age, holding a small dart gun in her hand. Her platinum blonde hair was much like her brother's but her eyes were a rare and unusual shade of grey, which gazed at Asuka with a sort of juvenile naivety not becoming of a woman her age. She simply laughed at Asuka's riled remarks and raced back into the apartment. "Wolfgang I thought you were going to take that thing away from her?"

"I tried. The thing might fire foam darts but a pistol whip still hurts," the slightly older sibling answered from where he stood just inside the apartment.

"I knew getting her that was a mistake."

"She's a surprisingly good shot. Besides, it gives her something to do – as you can imagine not many people are interested in doing the girly things she should be doing at her age with her."

"She once accused an almond of trying to undermine her authority, should it be a surprise that people aren't too interested in hanging out with a schitzo?"

"Could you not call her that?" Wolfgang remarked, visibly irked by the less-than-sensitive language Asuka used. "The last person she caught calling her that she put into a body cast."

"At least she's sane enough to understand when she's insulted."

"When she's not trying to mail the cat." The two chuckled lightly as they watched Wolfgang's tabby cat running across the room with Ada in close pursuit. "So what can I do for you? The last time you came asking me for anything you still refused to actually put it in the form of a question."

"Um…guy problems."

"You're having guy problems?" Wolfgang replied, almost shocked from her admission. "Ah…dammit that means I owe Johan a six-pack."

"What?"

"Oh I might've…made a bet with Johan that you might have been…you know, gay..."

"Arschloch," Asuka growled, delivering a swift but light blow to the back of her friend's head. Wolfgang took it in stride as he led her from the hall into the living room. It was still sparsely furnished and a few boxes remained unpacked but the all-essential couch and TV were set up. Asuka didn't waste any time in claiming the large couch all to herself, stretching across the cushions as she made herself comfortable. "Wait…so you thought I was gay?"

"Bear in mind this was after that time with those Russian exchange girls," Wolfgang explained as he sat in the nearby recliner.

"Oh right…those pictures were all over the lab the next morning. Would that have anything to do with all those strippers you hired on my birthday?"

"You can call that a bit of a social experiment…which unfortunately didn't get any conclusive results."

"Gee, it might have had something to do with me being drunk – I would've danced with a coat rack wrapped in barbed wire at that point," Asuka retorted with immense sarcasm lacing her words. "Can we avoid the pseudo-lesbian moments and focus back to my very real heterosexual difficulties?"

"Sorry, lesbians always distract me," Wolfgang chuckled as he leaned back in his chair. "That and Ada setting the kitchen…again."

"Kitchen's not on fire but my ears are burning!" Ada's voice perked up as she hopped over the back of the couch and landed on Asuka's leg, startling the young woman. "Need a shrink? I can do that! I've been around enough to know what they do." Asuka was rather speechless as the other teen slumped over and placed her ear squarely on the center of Asuka's chest.

"What are you-"

"Sh! I'm trying to listen to your soul," Ada quickly interrupted Asuka's inquiries while subtly shifting her up the girl's sternum. "Somebody's been very bad…to somebody very close. You don't want the king and queen to unite and you want to hold the aces but a certain jack of hearts is posing a risk. Your best bet is to go for the straight rather than the three of a kind." Ada halted in her 'analysis' suddenly, lifting her head off and gasping loudly in some sort of revelation. "And you're in allegiance with the cashew!"

Asuka didn't even get much of a chance to question Ada's remarks before Ada jumped off the couch and raced back to her bedroom. Neither Asuka nor Wolfgang were too surprised by the girl's remarks and behavior, especially since this was relatively tame compared to previous experiences. "The cashew?"

"Apparently seven weeks ago the almond forged an alliance with a can of mixed nuts, whose ringleader was a particular cashew – I had to turn down a perfectly good gift of beer nuts because I feared it might trigger an all-out war."

"How do you put up with that?"

"I can handle the disorganized speech and behavior…at least she's not talking to the walls anymore," Wolfgang explained with a light sigh. "How about we go back to what you originally came for…before she comes back with her dart gun to try and take you prisoner."

---------------------

Shinji had spent the bulk of his day at NERV, undergoing the number of new protocols that the senior staff had concocted including more combat training that Shinji would care to go for ever again. He used to think that Misato could be a real slave driver when she had a plan but the new Chief of Operations was only slightly better than a drill sergeant. Shinji had learned two very valuable lessons that day – he was a lightweight and Captain Yamato was a regional champion in judo. Shinji was aching in parts that he didn't realize could ache. Given a few weeks and maybe months, Shinji and the other pilots would be able to give that rogue Eva a run for its money the next time they saw it…

Of course, Shinji didn't see Rei nor Asuka at the training session. It was an optional trial just to see how it went and given the recent events, Shinji felt better off doing it alone. While he wanted to talk to Rei, nobody had seen her all day and she hadn't been in contact with anybody, including her superiors at NERV. It was very unlike Rei to be neglecting her duty even if it were an optional one…but then again this was a situation unlike anything she's ever had to experience before.

"Hello? Anybody home?"

It didn't take very long for somebody to answer Shinji's inquiry, though he would've preferred returning to an empty condo. "If it isn't the conquering hero – it's about time you showed your face around here."

Shinji was still upset with Kyo, though he tried not to let it show. "I'm sure you can understand I've been somewhat adverse to coming here," Shinji replied with a hint of sarcasm. "Speaking of which, on a scale of 1-10 how screwed am I still?"

"If ten was how bad things were when the problem started, then I'd say you're at eleven now," Kyo answered grimly. At first, Shinji was a little puzzled as to how things could've possibly gotten worse but then his pessimistic mind began coming up insane theories, most of which involving neither Asuka or Rei wanting to see him ever again. Kyo motioned for Shinji to follow, leading him to Rei's bedroom door. "You might want to see this…" Kyo slid the door open, revealing an almost bare bedroom save for the furniture that was already there. All the drawers, shelves, and cabinets were completely empty; the only item remaining was the set of keys for the building and condominium, which sat neatly on the pillow. Shinji just stared silently at the barren room…a cruel manifestation of that feeling that was now coursing through his body.

"When?"

"About four hours ago. She just packed up and left."

"Did she say anything?"

"Just to not try and follow her…and that you should probably not approach her in class or at work…"

"You know Kyo…I really fucking hate you right about now," Shinji growled bitterly.

"That's why I took the initiative of finding myself a place to crash for the next couple of days," Kyo answered sternly, obviously not surprised by Shinji's residual contempt to his oldest friend. He wasn't going to argue with Shinji nor was he going to try and explain himself. Kyo simply headed back into the living room, where a small suitcase and his laptop bag had been waiting for him. "I'll talk to you when you're back to your usual self."

"Don't hold your breath…"

"Oh and Asuka called – she's crashing at a friend's for the night. Try not to do anything stupid again," Kyo's last words fell upon deaf ears by this point. Shinji didn't bat a glance when he heard the door slam shut…and now the condo felt just as empty as Rei's room.


	19. Chapter 18: Friendly Advice

**Chapter Eighteen: Friendly Advice**

**Her one night at a friend's turned into several. **Asuka didn't want to face Shinji until she felt ready enough to actually talk to him about that fateful night they spent together. Even teaching her classes felt awkward just knowing that Shinji was in the audience, watching her every movement and listening to every word. God…she hadn't been this obsessive over somebody since the highest points of her infatuation with Kaji. Fortunately for her, she was able to keep her lectures brief and Wolfgang had been keeping her company after class. Even Ada was a good source of distraction from her problems…sometimes Asuka would talk with the schizophrenic for hours just to try and piece together her fragmented, riddle-like speech patterns. There were times that Ada did make a bit of sense and on her good days her symptoms were barely noticeable…except when she would argue with her breakfast. The almonds apparently recruited the rolled oats into their army. Wolfgang had always had his hands full taking care of the young teenager but he was loyal to his family and absolutely refused to let her be cared for by an institute.

Fortunately for Asuka, it was her day off from work. Since she was only a part-time worker at the university, she was only required to be in for any meetings and her lectures. Asuka took the opportunity to do the thing that every self-respecting teenager did every once in a while – sleep in till noon. Her dreams had been filled with the typical matters that had been plaguing her mind…and her dreams usually didn't have a happy ending either. Of course, they were just dreams and were nothing more than the product of a pessimistic mindset. Very rarely did the boastful Germanic teenager feel so doubtful about anything in her life.

As she expected, Shinji hadn't approached her once in the past several days and her 'reports' from Kyo was that Shinji hadn't spoken with Rei in several days either. Without Kyo acting as a sort of middleman, it would appear that none of the three teenagers had spoken to each other at all. Kyo also mentioned that Misato was beginning to express her own concerns on the matter simply because of the tension it might bring when they're piloting their Evas. Asuka was confident, though, that Misato was not going to act. As a friend Misato could do plenty but there wasn't anything she could do as a superior officer. Besides, Misato would likely approach Shinji before talking to Asuka…Misato always liked Shinji better; she had always like him better. After all, Shinji was invited to live with Misato while Asuka, despite what she may have told Shinji had to ask to live with her. There was little chance that Misato would 'help' Shinji in the way she wanted to anyways.

Wolfgang had been surprisingly more supportive than Asuka had expected. While they were very good friends in college, Wolfgang wasn't one of those guys who 'helped' out a lot. It wasn't so much that he thought asking for help was a sign of weakness but he felt that people would be better off if they learned how to support themselves rather than always rely on others; Asuka suspected it was more to do with the fact that he practically had to raise himself and his sister. The subject of his parents rarely came up and he made it clear from the start that he wasn't too fond of either of them. Since Asuka knew full well how annoying a nosey person could be, she never bothered to press him for more details.

Curled up on the guest bed, Asuka awoke to a peculiar sight and sensation. Wolfgang's cat, Evalyn, had decided to take a nap upon Asuka's face, which made it particularly difficult to breath comfortably. Once her sense finally came to, Asuka grabbed the cat by the scruff of her neck and pulled her off. "You know Eva, for a cat with only three lives left you certainly know how to push your luck." The cat, despite being so rudely awoken from her nap, simply let out a meow and licked Asuka on the nose. "Crazy cat…"

"Hey now, don't be mean to the cat," Ada's voice chirped from the doorway. "The cat's certainly not crazy…and I think I'd know what crazy is."

"Don't you have a breakfast cereal to be interrogating?" Asuka remarked as she watched the other teenager stroll into the bedroom and plopped on the end of the bed.

"You know, some people might take those kind of remarks as offensive," Ada remarked, frowning slightly in a clear display of sanity. Asuka quickly figured that this was one of Ada's good days so she had to ease up with the crazy jokes; Ada had just as much of a temper as her brother and remarks about her sanity was the easiest way to piss her off. "Did Evalyn keep you company?"

"I wouldn't have been bothered if she chose a better place to sleep," Asuka answered, watching the small cat curl up on her lap. Evalyn might not have a comfortable face to sleep on so she was going to settle for the next best thing. "Can I help you?"

"Just wanted to give you a wake-up call – it's almost half-past noon you know."

"And I would've liked to have slept in till at least one."

"Wolfgang said you used to stay up all night in the labs when you were working, why are you being such a sloth?"

"Can't a girl be lazy for once in her life?"

"Sloth is one of the seven deadly sins – you shouldn't let it get even a foothold in your life. I mean…sure you've already got plenty of envy, pride, wrath, and lust but…um, I know I had a point somewhere in that train of thought."

"Gee, thanks. Have you ever considered being a motivational speaker?" Asuka answered in a snippy manner before laying back down. "Seriously…what the hell do you want Ada?"

"Just…wanted to talk, is that such a sin? Am I too normal for you now or would you rather I start talking to invisible Bob again?"

"I'm sure he's a much more interesting conversationalist than I would be," Asuka grumbled, rolling over and wrapping herself in the sheets. Evalyn, forcefully displaced from her napping spot, fled the room as Asuka shifted posture. "Just leave me alone."

"The whole Shinji thing still giving you trouble?"

"Um…I never told you his name." A puzzled Asuka slowly sat back up at the mention of the familiar name. Perhaps the schizophrenic girl was more perceptive than she had originally pegged her as.

"It's a small apartment, word gets around pretty quick. Plus recall that time when you talked to Wolfgang for two hours about you?"

"You were catatonic though."

"I can still hear and maybe you didn't check but I wasn't asleep either," Ada explained calmly. "So here I am…you're having guy problems and I thought another girl's perspective would be beneficial to you."

"And what would you know about boy problems? You've spent most of your days talking to yourself and if I recall correctly while a number of guys have thought you looked cute, none of them could stand talking to you for more than five minutes before being completely baffled by your incoherent speech."

"Maybe you'd have more luck if you weren't so hostile to people," Ada remarked a little bitterly. It was true that her experience with the opposite sex was extremely limited but when you had to deal with a major mental disorder, relationships dropped in priority. "When was the last time you were nice to Shinji?"

"I'm plenty nice to him – I've bought him drinks before."

"And when was the last time you said thank you? When was the last time you complimented him? While my brother might've suggested you stay true to yourself, be more assertive, and make it clear why you would be a better choice for him…I would have to respectfully disagree. I love him dearly but my brother has never been one for charming and your Shinji sounds like the kind that needs be shown compassion and sweetness rather than objective reasons."

"You haven't told me anything I haven't said before. Okay…so I haven't been the friendliest of people but he knows that's not the kind of person I am. If he can't accept that fact then I don't want him anyways."

"Do you honestly believe that?"

"Okay…maybe I still would want him. A relationship shouldn't be about deception...and he knows I'm not some sweetheart so all I would do is make an idiot of myself."

"Alright then maybe a different approach is needed," Ada reluctantly accepted the defeat of her first stratagem. She knew there was a slim chance she'd be able to provide a solid plan, especially since she didn't have much experience as Asuka pointed out. "I still don't agree with my brother…especially when he suggested the whole 'sabotage your competition' thing. Not all is fair in love and war because the moment your Shinji finds out about any foul play and you'll just drive him straight into the other girl. If Shinji's the kind of guy you described him as…he's going to want a sign that he actually means something significant to you – he'll want a sign that he's important. How about surprise him when he comes home with something really sweet and maybe even a bit romantic?"

"Where the hell do you come up with this stuff? You barely watch TV and read books…it's like this stuff just comes to you."

"I talk to walls remember? They have ears after all." It was a surprising turn to see Ada making fun of her own condition; it was typically such a sensitive topic for her. "I might not be smart like my brother but I think I understand people a bit better than him – he's so detached. He looks at the world likes it's just a science experiment. It lets him understand it better but doesn't offer anything for being a part of it. You're better off taking my advice over his even if he is the sane one. My idea's probably more rational than any of yours."

"I never thought I'd be getting a reality check from a girl whose very perception is questionable at best."

"Makes me more creative."

"Guess the...'nice' approach is worth a shot. I doubt I can screw things up any more."

---------------------

"Can't believe somebody would actually downgrade to this place," Judy muttered to herself as she climbed the stairs up the worn-down apartment complex. It was just as Misato had described it – a dump and yet Judy didn't doubt for a second that Rei would choose to return to this place. No person in their right mind would come back to this place unless there was some sort of attachment at a deeper level…or just familiarity. Occupancy was almost at zero though Judy noted a lot of squatters in the abandoned apartments. It was unlikely this building would stay operational for very long…any sane businessman would dump this property in a heartbeat. Finally finding the room she wanted, Judy pressed the small doorbell only to find that it wasn't working. That, of course, didn't surprise her at all considering the state of the building.

"Please answer," she muttered softly before pounding on the door. It took a couple of extra poundings but eventually the door creaked and Rei peered curiously peered through. Perhaps if Rei was the kind of person to visually express emotions, she might've been noticeably surprised by Judy's presence…but Judy had to settle with her own personal intuition. "Um…hi. Don't suppose I could have a word or two with you?" Judy was more than a little nervous; she wouldn't admit it but Rei intimidated her. It wasn't the hostile kind but the 'I'd like to have your respect but you seem too above me to ever give it' intimidation.

"Who sent you?"

"Nobody sent me Miss Ayanami. I do not act on behalf of Shinji or Misato or even Kyo."

"Then how did you find me?"

"Oh…I have friends in high places, remember?"

"What do you really want?"

"I'm a maid – I go where the messes are and you seem to be in a very big one."

"You're a house maid. This isn't your job."

"Do I tell you how to do your job?" Judy snipped. "Besides with all your friends being pushed away, I figured the only person who would be able to approach you is a near-complete stranger. I know you well enough to help but not well enough to be biased or show favouritism."

"I don't need your help. I'm handling the situation just fine thank you." Rei was about to shut the door but Judy promptly put her foot into the door. "This isn't your concern Miss Adam. What can you possibly gain from this?"

"If I was thinking about gains and losses, I wouldn't be here. Are you so cynical that you can't believe that somebody might want to help somebody out of the goodness of their own heart?"

"I don't believe that but I'm not about to start talking about my personal affairs with somebody I barely know."

"And who can you talk to?" Judy insisted as Rei tried a second time to close the door. "If you had somebody to talk to you would've done so by now. Now either you're running away from the problem or you've got nobody to turn to. Either way, I'm here right now giving you an opportunity to solve your dilemma. There's an old Jewish proverb that my father used to tell me – first mend thyself and then mend others. If you want an answer you're going to need to start with yourself and I'm the only person that's willing to give you truth."

Rei didn't answer right away and with good reason. Judith was normally a soft-spoken individual so seeing such fervor was unusual from her. Reluctantly, Rei agreed to her terms and stepped back to invite the girl inside. Judy smiled brightly in thanks and stepped inside the drab little apartment that was more reminiscent of a jail cell than an apartment. "I know this isn't my home but I always find a conversation is easier when you have a cup of tea to talk over."

"I can go make some if you would like."

"No…I insist that I do. Tea is part of my job too." Rei had no qualms with Judith taking the responsibility and the jovial teen headed into the kitchenette to put on a kettle. "So which did you feel worse about: pushing Shinji away or see him pushed right into the arms of another woman?" Judith wasted no time in her 'therapy', which Rei was expecting from the very start. Judith was kidding when she said she would provide an objective view because she didn't seem concerned about any of Rei's feelings.

"I…don't know," Rei answered honestly. "Probably the second. I had always suspected that a part of Shinji still had feelings for Asuka but…I should've expected this to occur. Still, it confirms what I was afraid of so…it's probably for the best."

"Do you actually believe the crap that's coming out of your mouth?" Judith remarked, leaning back against the kitchen counter. "Cause I certainly don't. Do you think this is what's the best or just what's the easiest and least painful?"

"Asuka can offer him things I can't," Rei explained. "She has more life, more passion, and more…humanity. These are things Shinji needs and I can't provide. I'm just…a doll, something to be admired from afar but ultimately empty – a fantasy." Judy sighed softly…it was surprising to see such self-doubt in a girl who seemed in control of everything. The water was beginning to boil so Judy put the conversation on hold while she finished preparing the tea. "Maybe you were a doll once but that doesn't mean you have to be one anymore," she added as she handed a cup of tea to Rei. "Have you heard of Pinocchio?"

"Briefly – puppet turns into boy. Point?"

"Be the doll that turns into a woman. Stop thinking that how you started will determine where you end up. I started as a simple Jewish girl, the daughter of a big-shot military dude. I was projected to wind up following in my dad's footsteps or…becoming a housewife like my mom. Neither was something I was interested in becoming so I took matters into my own hands…didn't expect to wind up on the streets but I was trying to carve out my own little niche in life." Judy sighed lightly, sipping her tea periodically, as she recollected memories of her former life. This was not how she wanted freedom. "You have a choice Miss Ayanami and you don't have much time to make it. Shinji has strong feelings for you for a reason."

"Because he's fallen for a fantasy," Rei answered, ignoring her tea for some reason. "I remind him of something he lost. I'm not what he thinks I am."

"And you're scared he'll reject you if he finds out? How clichéd. I thought you were above such worries."

"It's more than that."

"You mean your concern that you might be biologically related to him?"

"You spoke to Kyo?"

"I pressed for some details. It's interesting how you fed different people different reasons. You told Kyo about the physical reason and tell Shinji the emotional one. Why didn't you tell Kyo the emotional one? Didn't think he'd believe it?"

"They're both concerns…"

"And I thought Kyo had problems," Judy muttered to herself. "Why did you grow close to Shinji in the first place?"

"Because…four years ago he was all I had left. I didn't think it would happen but…it did anyways."

"Do you love him?"

Rei took a moment to think about it…a simple and yet the most complex question you could probably ever ask somebody. "I don't know if its love but…it's more than just the friendship we once had. I don't know what it is I feel because I've never felt anything like it before. It scares me and…entices me at the same time. I don't know what's the right thing to do and I don't know who to talk to." Rei set her cup of tea down on the counter and sat at the small kitchen table to contemplate further. Her tea was getting cold but she didn't want to drink it anyways…it wasn't the same as when he made it.

"I've never really been in love before so I can't say how I'd react to it," Judy answered regrettably. "You've never had to make too many big decisions in your life before, have you? You have that professional attitude but it's more like a soldier's rather than an officer's. I've hung around enough military guys to tell who's a leader and who's a follower. You don't know what to because…you've rarely had to make such monumental decisions on your own…daunting isn't it? You've been thrown into a world without a roadmap to guide you and nobody there to lead you…freedom is man's best and worst gift. Life would be easy if everything was decided for you...there'd be nothing to fear and nothing to be uncertain about. The good thing about it though is that it means anything's possible – including love where you thought possible."

"Is there a point to your babel?"

"Oh…right. Got a little sidetracked," Judy chuckled a bit embarrassed. "Too much philosophy with Kyo. What I'm trying to say is stop feeling like everything's out of your control. You have the choices and you have the options and so what if maybe you can't provide the 'life' that Asuka can…there's so much more to you than just the fantasy you think there is. There's another saying that my father told me repeatedly, 'as he thinks in his heart, so he is'. Now go and make the choice that you feel is right in your heart. Don't think…just feel."

Rei looked back to her cup of tea, which lingered at room temperature at this point. The golden brown hue reminded him of those days they spent together four years ago. "Do you think I should talk to Shinji?"

"You're asking me what to do again – look to yourself for answers Miss Ayanami."

"What about the-"

"Your fears about that are probably unfounded. Kyo told me about it so unless one of his parents donated their genetic material it's pretty unlikely there's a genetic relation. If it is that much of a concern, go talk to your doctor about it…I'm sure you can get a DNA comparison in a day or two. Until then, follow your heart…you might not get many opportunities to do so."

"I need some time alone to think," Rei finally answered, which surprisingly elicited a small smile from Judy. She had accomplished what she came to do – she got Rei to reconsider and that little seed of doubt was all that was needed to flower something beautiful. All that Judy could do now was stand back and pray that Rei would make the right decision.

---------------------

"Scented candles – check. Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet – check. Chardonnay – check. Okay Asuka, you've never done anything remotely romantically before but there's a first for everything." Asuka was just outside her condominium, checking through her bags of 'things' in preparation for her plans. Shinji had only recently returned from his long day at NERV and, according to Kyo, Rei still hadn't shown up at the condo. She knew she could capitalize on Rei's indecision. The plan might've been spawned by a mental case but it actually could work.

Taking a few deep breaths to calm her surprisingly jittery nerves, Asuka headed into the lobby. However, only a few steps into the lobby did she see the one thing she didn't want to see – it was Rei…in the elevator and the doors were closing. Kyo wouldn't have lied so this meant that Rei was finally making her move and was on her way to speak with Shinji. Asuka could not let this happen!

"Of all the times to stop being a puppet…" Asuka growled before bolting for the stairs. She wasn't going to lose to Rei…not again. Rei might've had a head start but the stairwell was closer to their condo and she could run up stairs faster than the elevator could ascent. Now unfortunately the stairs were not something that she used very often and it was true that over the past few years she might've left her physical endurance slip a little bit…but when you had enough motivation, even several flights of stairs wouldn't stand in your way. Also working against her was the added weight from the suitcase and bag she was carrying.

"Oh gravity you bitch." By the time Asuka reached her floor, she was getting exhausted…not a good sign, especially since Rei was almost at the door. For the sake of speed, Asuka discarded her and a second wind helped motivate her sprint for victory. Rei didn't notice Asuka's approach until she just about to open the door, which worked in Asuka's favour as it distracted Rei long enough for her to close the gap.

"What are you doing Asuka?" Rei asked, noticing the dropped bags in the hallway and Asuka's unusually heavy breathing.

"Stopping you," Asuka muttered bitterly. "I'm not going to let you hurt him any more than you already have."

"I'm not, though you seem to do a good job at it yourself," Rei replied as she reached for her key. Asuka's immediate reaction was to grab Rei by the wrist, which Rei immediately interpreted as hostilities and pushed the redhead away. "Don't touch me."

"Don't tell me what to do," Asuka snapped back as her temper began to get the best of her…again.

"With all due respect Miss Soryu-"

**POW!**

The last thing Rei was expecting was a right hook. Asuka landed a surprisingly good punch – it knocked Rei to her knees instantly and left her completely dazed for a few moments. Rei had always pushed her buttons…it shouldn't have been that much of a surprise that Asuka would eventually translate these issues into a physical display. "You can take that respect and stuff it…your pathetic facade of 'respect' always annoyed me."

"Then I suppose I should express myself in a language you understand better," Rei alluded before suddenly crash-tackling Asuka to the floor.

Inside the condo, Shinji was trying to unwind with a quiet drink and a long night in front of the television but it was rudely interrupted by some unusual noises outside his door. Puzzled, Shinji eventually went to investigate though he didn't like any of the possibilities that it could've been. Nothing he wanted was accompanied by such noises…and it sounded like Asuka and Rei, but what would they be talking about? Now when Shinji opened the door, it turned out that it wasn't so much as talking as general insults and accusations being flung at each other like wads of mud. The two girls were entangled in a vicious embrace, both trying to overpower the other but neither were particularly strong people and thanks to Captain Yamato's personal training sessions, they were both fairly skilled at hand-to-hand.

"Stop this!" Shinji shouted angrily at the sight of his two 'friends'. Immediately, both froze at the sound of his voice and ire; neither of them being caught in a position they wanted him to see, especially Asuka, who was trying to disprove her violent reputation. "What is going on?"

"She started it…"


	20. Chapter 19: Asmodeus

**Chapter Nineteen: Asmodeus**

Shinji always knew that his two female friends were not the best of companions or even the least bit amiable towards one another. The only thing that kept it from exploding into a full-blown heated rivalry was Rei's indifference to the other girl. Most of the disdain was one-way but Shinji could tell that Rei held an unfavourable opinion of the Second Child. Rei had always viewed Asuka as a rather unscrupulous individual with little to no empathy for others – in short, a manipulative, little bitch but in a much more refined manner. Even with these feelings in place, Rei wouldn't let it cloud her judgment when performing her duty. Shinji admired that quality in Rei…he only wished he could block out his negative emotions in order to accomplish his goals.

Seeing Rei and Asuka entangled in such a violent episode was something he thought the two girls were above. Of course, a week ago he would've thought Asuka had matured beyond this…but considering what had happened recently, it wasn't much of a surprise. What was on Shinji's mind, aside from what the hell he should do, was whether or not Asuka was telling the truth about who started it. Wait…why should it matter who started it? This was a ridiculous situation either way.

"Okay, stop this both of you!" Shinji shouted, promptly taking command of the situation and pulling Asuka off of Rei. Both girls, wanting to save a little face, quietly ended their dispute and let Shinji position himself between the two. "What has gotten into you?"

"Shinji I need to talk to you in-"

"Not now," Shinji quickly cut Asuka off, clearly annoyed by Asuka's behavior. Though he wasn't the kind to jump to conclusion, Asuka was far more likely to be at fault here. Rei probably said something that Asuka didn't like and the underlying tensions just made the redhead snap. "Just…you know what, fuck it. Beat the crap out of each other…I don't care."

"Shinji wait!" Asuka called out as she tried to chase after him, though she didn't get through the doorway before it shut. She cussed under her breath, slamming a fist into the doorframe in her frustrations. Her one chance at instilling a good impression was ruined…by that damned First Child no less. She was equally pissed that it was her temper that ruined the moment as well. "You just love ruining my life, don't you?"

"If you're suggesting I took pleasure in what happened, you are mistaken," Rei answered calmly, wiping a tiny speckle of blood out of the corner of her lips. "Now either open the door or step aside."

Asuka glared harshly for a moment before snorting her disgust and doubled-back to pick up her things. Meanwhile, Rei pursued after Shinji – she knew that what she needed to say to him would be fruitless if Asuka got to him first. Just to hinder Asuka's movements further, she deftly clicked the deadbolt into place…it should keep Asuka out of the condo. "Shinji?"

"I said I don't care. Just leave me alone," Shinji answered. She followed the direction of his projection to his room but didn't enter right away. Rei felt like an idiot…Shinji had always had abandonment issues and pushing him away was just throwing petrol into the flames.

"Shinji I…I'm sorry I hurt you," Rei began softly, leaning ever so gentle against his fragile screen door.

"Is this the part where you say you didn't mean what you said and I'm supposed to just forget about it?"

"No…I meant most of what I said. I can't expect you to forget what I've said…or even forgive what I said. I just…need you to understand." Rei's pauses were growing longer and more frequent – nothing in life ever really prepared her for moments like these. It would be easier for her to just stop caring like Shinji was. "I was…scared of what might happen…if I let things go further. I panicked and…I looked for any reason to abort. The truth is…I'm…"

The finisher of that sentence never left her lips though as phones started ringing at that moment; first it was Shinji's cell, then Rei's, and shortly after the faint sound of Asuka's going off. Everything on their minds came to an abrupt halt at the realization of the ringing. Only one thing would make all three cell phones ring at the same time – NERV was calling them in. Rei knew she couldn't ignore her duty and quickly answered her cell phone.

"Ayanami speaking."

"We have a code 99 – report to base immediately."

"We're on our way." The call was short and to the point – one of the seven had been spotted. Only seconds after she hung up her phone did Shinji emerge from his room, obviously having received the exact same call. Without even a word between the two, they knew that their conversation would have to be put on hold until after the mission.

"You gonna unlock this door so I can get my car keys and we can go?" Asuka shouted from the hallway, prompting her colleagues to grab her keys for her and head on their way. Trailing behind Rei, Shinji paused for a moment as he felt a strange, icy chill run down his spine. Shinji had felt that icy touch before and it had always heralded that Crimson apparition.

_"You shall kill her when the sun of man sets,"_ the apparition's haunting voice whispered through his mind. It felt as chilling as a December breeze that cut straight to this very soul. What could it mean…and more importantly, was it a threat or a promise of things to come? Shinji wished he could take a moment to think about it but there were more pressing issues at hand. He tried to convince himself that it was just a figment of his imagination…but that would never calm his nerves at this point. He didn't have the luxury of second-guessing himself now – he just had to keep moving forward.

---------------------

"Alright kids, it's been four years since you've done this for real but I have ever bit of confidence in each and every one of you," the captain's inspirational words sounded over the radio. The three evangelions stood at the exit port from the geofront, fully armed and ready for combat. Eva-00, taking point, carried a bladed staff while a rifle-equipped Eva-01 and Eva-02 followed closely behind.

"How hard could it be?" Asuka said confidently as the trio checked their bearings. According to the satellites, their target was approaching Tokyo-3 from the northwest and would reach the city within the hour. Of course, the three pilots had no intention of allowing their target from reaching even the outskirts of Tokyo-3.

"Aside from a complete lack of information on the target?" the captain retorted. "Target Sin codename is Asmodeus – Unit-01 will take point with Unit-02 in support. Unit-00 will flank south and hook northbound to approach the target from the southwest. Your orders are simple: contain and destroy. I don't want that thing setting foot within spitting distance of the city, is that clear?"

"Yes sir," Rei answered as she motioned for the other two to move out. Shinji wasn't too certain about the captain's plan, which had Asuka and Shinji serving as decoys until Rei could move in for a deadlier close-range attack. Eva-00 headed on her own route, leaving Asuka and Shinji to begin their approach.

"Eva-02 beginning approach. Shall make contact in approximately two minutes," Asuka reported taking the lead with a steady jog. "Any idea where our target is headed?"

"Looks like it's heading for the city but unless it gets close we won't have an idea of where in the city," Yamato answered. "And personally, I'd rather not give it the opportunity to get close. Now your target appears earth-bound but we have no idea of its capabilities so be cautious upon assault. Provide suppression fire until Unit-00 can move in close and take out its core."

"Assuming there is one," Asuka muttered in an aside that was ignored by everyone who heard it. The hilly landscape surrounding Tokyo-3 always provided an interesting obstacle course for the massive evangelions, who were currently following the highway that led out of the city. The highway followed the valleys that ran between the hills, allowing Shinji and Asuka to remain relatively covered on their approach, though their target would equally be in cover were it not for the satellite imaging providing support for the Eva pilots. As they drew closer, Asuka motioned for them to hold position. "You hear that Shinji?"

"Um…no."

"Turn up the audio receptors you idiot."

"Oh, right," Shinji muttered as he heeded Asuka's instructions. Cranking up the audio, the entry plug soon became flooded with a heavy, rumbling and grinding…like something dragging across the landscape.

"Let's go Shinji," Asuka shouted, double-checking her rifle before springing to her feet and charging over the hill.

Just as Shinji was about to join in on the assault, another disembodied voice echoed through his mind. This time, though, it was Nanashi's familiar voice, even though that didn't provide a great deal of relief for him. _"Be wary Shinji…you face the first of the Seven. They are not like the Angels you faced before – they are far more ruthless and they will exploit the weaknesses not only in your body but in your mind."_

_"What is it after?"_ Shinji silently replied.

_"It searches for the Thirteenth somewhere in the city. As it draws closer to the city, it begins to distinguish each human soul from the Thirteenth. You cannot let them find the Thirteenth!"_ The then voice faded from his mind, allowing Shinji to return to his mission. He had let himself be distracted by Nanashi's voice and the sound of gunfire over the ridge reminded him that Asuka was depending on his support. Charging over the ridge, Shinji found Asuka was already locked in the heat of battle with their new foe.

Just has the sounds he heard earlier had suggested, the Sin was quite a bit larger than the Evas and Shinji could best describe it as serpent-like in physique. It slithered across the landscape like a snake, though there was no distinguishable head…just a giant, gaping maw at the end of its body. Rows up rows of needle-like teeth were clamped tightly around Eva-02's rifle with Asuka struggling to keep the Sin's jaws away from her.

"A little fire support here Shinji!" Asuka barked impatiently.

Shinji was prompt in heeding Asuka's 'polite' request but his spray of gunfire found little success. Even without an active AT field protecting the Sin's flank, it possessed two large wing-like appendages that sprouted from its back and they folded over its body in a protective fashion, absorbing each round effortlessly. Two additional appendages hung from its upper jaw with long, metallic tusks upon the end of each appendage. Acting like a pair of hands, the talons lashed out at Eva-02's exposed head.

"Less staring, more helping!" Asuka's insistent nagging while Eva-02's head dodged the piercing strikes from the Sin. Shinji tried several additional bursts from his rifle but the Sin's wing was incredibly durable and it became apparent quickly that, as usual, firearms were proving ineffective.

"Ikari – switch to secondary attack mode and engage!" Yamato ordered. On command, the Eva dropped its rifle and drew its dagger. A close-range charge wasn't too effective though; once he got close enough, the Sin whipped its tail and the weight-like tip nailed the Eva square in the jaw.

"Useless idiot!" Asuka growled, watching her 'back-up' get toppled over in one blow. "Activating spike cannon." Shinji's gunfire might not have been effective but Asuka was willing to bet that several sharpened rods launching at about five hundred kilometers per hour would be able to convince the Sin to back off. Unfortunately, aside from flesh and hide there wasn't much to aim at, especially nothing that looked particularly important, and while the spikes were driven deep into the Sin's body, it served only to frustrate the being further. Asuka wasn't going to complain, though, as it served to get the thing off of her Eva. "I'm sending you back to wherever the hell you crawled out of!" Asuka shouted angrily as she quickly rose to her feet. Her focus on getting revenge, however, took her attention away from the fact that her gun had been perforated in the struggle. The fizzle and loud, grinding clicks was the gun's way of telling Asuka to go on without it.

"Scheiße," Asuka cursed bitterly.

There wasn't any time to switch to her knife, with the Sin rearing back and letting out a tremendous roar right in Eva-02's face. Shinji and the NERV support staff watched in puzzlement as Eva-02 began to sway back and forth before suddenly collapsing to the ground in a limp heap.

"Asuka!" Shinji shouted as his Eva rose to its feet. "What the hell just happened?"

"We're trying to figure that out," Yamato replied. "Draw it away from Eva-02 and be careful."

A very safe distance away, inside the geofront, Captain Yamato and the rest of the support staff had their hands full just trying to figure out what befell Asuka. Maya made it her priority; she analyzed every scrap of data they collected from Eva-02 before its pilot seemingly passed out. Every monitor in front of Maya was flooded with a plethora of numbers and graphs: vital signs, system diagnostics, synchronization ratios, and EEG readings. In fact, it was those brain-wave patterns that left the lieutenant so puzzled and it was not because they were abnormal or even dangerous…it was just that their form did not make sense.

"Lt. Ibuki, tell me you've got some idea of what just knocked out our pilot," Captain Yamato ordered as he leaned over her shoulder so that he could see the monitors as well.

"The wave patterns of her EEG look like…sleep waves," Ibuki answered, having difficulty believing the answer herself. "I'm not a neurologist…I can't quite make sense of all this data. Aside from apparently being asleep the pilot is unharmed."

"People don't fall asleep in the middle of a fight, not with the amount of adrenaline that'd be pumping through your arteries." Captain Yamato was understandably bitter by the news but solving medical mysteries was not in his job description. Fortunately for him, they happened to have somebody on staff whose job was anything medical-related. "Dr. Yamashiro – have you been watching the scoreboard?"

"I hate sports analogies sir," the doctor's voice answered over another communication line. Situated in her office, Dr. Yamashiro had an active data feed from Lt. Ibuki's station so that she could personally monitor the pilot's conditions. While Ibuki had the knowledge and training to understand the most likely medical emergencies, special situations required a specialist. "Electroencephalogram results are analogous to a patient in REM sleep. Rising serotonin and other hormone levels, shunted blood flow, heart rate, and respiration rate are more like somebody having a very good dream."

"You can tell that by a few vital signs?" Yamato remarked.

"Serotonin typically instills euphoric feelings," Dr. Yamashiro explained bluntly.

"Well let's just wake her up."

"That'd be a good idea, especially since you probably don't want her rising serotonin levels to put her into the permanent kind of sleep. Try using the emergency resuscitation systems on low."

Maya didn't bother waiting for Captain Yamato to give the order as she charged up the emergency systems. Normally reserved for getting a pilot's heart back into rhythm, a very low-powered shock should be sufficient in stirring Sleeping Beauty. Or at least that's what they had hoped for. Despite the shock making the young pilot twitch, there was no change in Asuka's condition…even after a second and third shock of minutely increased magnitude. "She's not waking up sir…" Maya reported reluctantly.

"If you can get her back inside, I can use something more potent to wake her up," the doctor explained. "But I give you about ten minutes before she literally dies from happiness."

"That's just fucking fantastic. It could take that long just to get Eva-02 back into the geofront," Yamato grumbled to himself. "Lt. Ibuki, work with Dr. Yamashiro and try to figure out something that'll work faster. Ayanami, what's your status?"

It took a second for Rei to respond from her position several kilometers from the battle. "I have almost completed the flanking maneuver sir."

"Forget completing the flanking maneuver Ayanami – move to assist immediately and double-time it. Soryu is already incapacitated and Ikari is in need of support." Peering over to the main monitor, Yamato watched Eva-01's progress in battling the Sin. Shinji wasn't having much success against the Sin…but with a downed teammate his focus was divided between the two objectives. A sudden lunge from the Sin knocked Eva-01 over, trapping it beneath the creature's body, which began coiling around the Eva. It tried to clamp its maw down onto Eva-01's head and while Shinji didn't have a rifle to jam between the Sin's jaws, he did manage to grab hold of it. It was a situation all too similar to Asuka's just moments ago and it didn't instill the greatest sense of confidence in the support staff.

"Wait a second," Shinji grunted through his struggle. "It looks like there's something at the back of its throat." Yamato and the others could see what Shinji was referring to as well via the camera feed directly from Eva-01's point of view. Behind all the rows of teeth, there was something large and round all the way at the back of its gullet…though the angle didn't provide a good view of it.

"It could be the core, try and get a better view," Yamato instructed, prompting Shinji to shift position carefully. The orb, hanging at the back of the gullet like an uvula was most likely the Sin's core…if they were anything like the Angels. "It…seems to be glowing…"

There were several exchanged puzzled looks amongst the support staff. "Um…we don't see a glow on this end," Yamato reported.

"I think I know what…" Shinji's voice suddenly trailed off mid-sentence, followed by the same sudden collapse that had befallen Asuka moments ago.

"Ah shit, not him too!" Yamato cursed as he checked with Ibuki's station – Shinji's vitals were shifting to the same patterns that Asuka was displaying. This sortie was going downhill in a hurry – the Sin had barely done anything and it had already incapacitated two of their pilots. "Ayanami!"

"Engaging the enemy sir," Rei calmly replied as Eva-00 came bounding over the nearby hills. Oddly enough, the Sin was ignoring the fallen Evas and was continuing towards the city, which made it easier for Eva-00 to launch a surprise attack from the rear. The Eva leapt into the air and landed square on the Sin's back, driving her spear as far as it could go into the creature's body. Unfortunately, the Sin squirmed furiously beneath Eva-00, forcing Rei to pull back so that she wasn't knocked over as well.

"Ayanami – we believe the core is inside its mouth."

"I heard. I'll need to hit it without looking at it," Rei replied, having heard all of the previous conversations between Shinji and the command center. With spear in hand, Eva-00 charged at the recovering Sin, plunging the blade into the creature once more. It let out a pained screech and roared right in the face of Eva-00 but Rei cleverly averted her gaze and struck the backend of her spear across its face. As the Sin attempted to incapacitate Rei again, she took the opportunity to ram her spear straight down the Sin's gullet. Its muffled screeches went ignored as Rei threw all of the Eva's bodyweight into driving the spear as far as it could go until the creature was pinned against the earth by Eva-00. The Sin thrashed about for a few moments before it fell still.

"Confirm the target has been silenced Ayanami."

"Yes Captain," Rei acknowledged as she worked on freeing her spear from the Sin. A few light tugs was met with hefty resistance…suggesting that she had embedded her weapon into something solid. Using her foot to pry the jaw open, Eva-00 easily loosened the weapon…only to realize that the jaw had been clamped down on the spear the whole time. It only took a second for Rei to process what this meant – the spear was lodged near the jaw bone, not the core, and the Sin had clamped down onto the spear willingly. Realizing the errors of her methodology, hey eyes gazed over to the gaping wound in the creature's jaw, which lay just laterally to the hanging core.

It began to shimmer…and then glow brightly…and that was when Rei made her biggest mistake.

She looked.


	21. Chapter 20: Wonderland

**Chapter Twenty: Wonderland**

A soft piano melody was pulsing through the air and almost directly into the ear of the slumbering teenager that was no more than two feet from the radio-alarm clock. Normally, the young woman could sleep through loud thunderstorms or even Asuka's blaring stereo system…but Rei knew she didn't sleep with a radio-alarm, so why was she hearing one? Judging by the genre of music, which was definitely an 18th century sonata, there was no doubt that it was Shinji's radio-alarm clock. Gradually, she drifted back to consciousness and awoke lying in a bed that was most definitely not hers…and that wasn't a pillow her head was resting on. As her eyes fluttered open, her gaze fell upon the bare chest of the young man she had shared the night with. Her eyes met with his, which were already wide awake and appeared to have been watching her intently.

"Good morning Rei," he greeted softly with a warm smile. "Sleep well?"

"Yes," she answered in a whisper. For some strange reason she seemed to feel so refreshed for a change. Most mornings Rei just woke up and felt…normal – the same way she'd feel during the rest of the day. Now though, not only did she feel strangely more alive but she also didn't want to get out of bed. It felt…sublime…so natural and more importantly it just felt right for her. "Did you?"

"For the few hours that I managed to get," Shinji chuckled softly, leaning over and planting a soft kiss. "I'm not quite as used to falling asleep next to somebody as I thought I was." A small smile crept upon her lips along with a faint blush thanks to Shinji's hand brushing along her bare stomach. His roaming hand deftly worked around her waist, eventually pulling her up close and holding her there. While they had been close before, it still felt so…foreign to Rei. Still she didn't want the enticing embrace of his warm body against hers to stop.

"We're going to need to go to class soon," Rei commented as she glanced over to the radio alarm clock. Normally Rei was up by nine at the very latest but today it was closer to eleven – an extreme rarity for her save for days when she was up all night. Then vague memories began flashing to mind and she recalled having been up for most of the night. She could only recall bits and pieces clearly but they all involved a lot of passion and lust. The mere thought of the night before brought about a strange…warming sensation through her, much like a blush except extending to every part of her body.

"A few more minutes isn't going to kill you," he jived, attempting to entice her to stay with a trail of tender kisses along her neck. Rei, however, would always be loyal to her commitments and she had a duty to attend her classes when possible. As tempting as it was, Rei eventually slid out from under Shinji and out of bed. With her usual indifference, headed out into the hall and to the shower. Oddly enough, there was no sign of Kyo or Asuka but chances were both were already at the university with their own commitments.

Pausing at the bathroom mirror, Rei took a few moments to just stare at herself in the mirror. Rei had never been one to ever worry, nor complain, about her figure but it had been a long time since she took a moment to think about herself as something more than just an Eva pilot. There was no denying the fact that she had a figure that rivaled Asuka's and while Asuka had the personality to make many a men lust after her, Rei captured the attention of one person on a much more intimate level. Of course, there was more to life than just love and romance and while Rei had complete confidence in her abilities to succeed in the working world once her duty to NERV had been fulfilled, her confidence to be…a woman did not have the same degree of fortitude. Was now even a time to be worrying about something so far off? As Rei stared into those gentle blue eyes of hers…she knew that whatever awaited her, she wanted Shinji to be there by her side.

Wait a second…

Her mind seemed to be telling her that everything was okay and yet in her gut she could feel something was amiss. Rei found that the more she stared at her reflection, the more it felt as though all was not as it should. Alas, it became difficult to focus on the issue as Shinji came waltzing into the bathroom and embraced her gently from behind.

"Something wrong Rei?" Shinji asked quietly.

"Have you ever had a moment where you were certain you were dreaming...but everything pointed to reality?"

"Well last night I was pretty sure I was dreaming," he answered coyly, though his chuckle died down quickly upon seeing that Rei was being quite serious.

"Something's not right."

"Maybe you're thinking too hard about it; you just want something to be wrong so you can return to how things used to be."

Rei let out a very quiet sigh, leaning back against Shinji and letting her eyes drift shut for a moment. Perhaps it was just her imagination…perhaps she was just trying to find something wrong. Shinji's warm embrace would've swept away her worries except that she suddenly started coming down with a monstrous headache. The sudden onset and severity took Rei by surprise and Shinji immediately noticed her tensing body.

"Are you all right Rei?"

"Just a bad headache," Rei answered. When she looked into the mirror, though, the first thing she saw was that her eyes had now become a deep crimson. It was a shocking sight but the moment she blinked, her eyes had returned to a gentle blue. She knew she wasn't crazy so there had to be an explanation to what she had just witnessed…but try as she might there wasn't any except the possibility that something was terribly wrong with everything around her.

"Rei?" Shinji's concern grew as she pulled away from him and braced herself up on the bathroom counter. "Rei what's wrong?"

"This…this is all wrong," she groaned, the pain in her head growing worse.

"What are you talking about?" Shinji muttered, trying to offer a reassuring touch to her shoulder. Instead, though, she pulled away from him even further.

"Don't touch me," Rei snapped, pulling back to the corner of the room, both hands gripping at her hair as she tried to combat the pain and confusion that was ravaging her mind. "This isn't right…this is all wrong."

"Rei what's gotten into you?" Shinji said as he tried to regain control of the situation. Taking hold of Rei by the arms, though, just caused her to struggle further. "Rei calm down!"

"No…this is wrong. Let me go!"

"Calm down Rei!" Shinji's words were falling on deaf ears though. As he called her name out repeatedly, for some reason his voice began to change. It started growing more hollow and raspy. Even more, his grip began to feel colder and colder. When his voice was completely alien to Rei and his grip icy to the touch, Rei opened her eyes to see what had been happening. Instead of looking back to Shinji, there was a gray, shadowy being standing before her. Its glowing white eyes seemed to piercing straight through all the confusion and pain and its voice resonated in her mind. "Rei Ayanami…wake up!"

---------------------

When her eyes snapped back open, Rei found herself right where her last clear memory placed her – inside the entry plug of her Eva. Her mind felt numb and her body weak but she was conscious and the shouts from those back at NERV were coming in clear.

"Rei, can you hear me? Please respond!" It was her commander's voice calling to him and it quickly brought back the memories of what had just transpired.

"Yes sir, what just happened?" Rei quickly responded as she began starting her Eva back up.

"You were put into some sort of hypnotic trance…we had to zap your brain just to wake you up," he explained. "You've only been out for a few minutes – the target is almost to the city. Now pick up your weapon and go!"

"Yes sir. What's the status of the others?"

"You were the last one woken up. Shinji and Asuka are already en route to the target."

Sure enough, a quick scan of the area showed that neither Eva-01 nor Eva-02 were present. Spotting her spear discarded on the ground, Eva-00 armed itself and raced off to back-up the other two pilots. Only a few kilometers closer to the city, Rei found the others already wrestling with the Sin. Now that they were aware of how its abilities worked, they knew how to avoid the danger it presented. The downside, however, was that it would be impossible to hit the core without being exposed to the danger it presented.

"Dammit Shinji give me a hand here," Asuka shouted as Eva-02 held on tightly to the Sin's back. The creature thrashed about madly, slamming the Eva against nearby walls and roads but with no success in throwing the Eva off of it. Keeping an arm up to shield his vision, Eva-01 cautiously approached the Sin from the front.

"Just hold it still," Shinji replied. The Sin roared ferociously at Eva-01 but Shinji kept its face blocked from view. As he pounced to try and get a hold of the creature, it thrashed about violently once again and its tail end struck Eva-01 across the face and toppled it over.

"Somebody stop this crazy thing already!" Asuka yelped as the Sin began to buck even more fiercely. Eva-02 managed to straddle the creature's body and held onto the wings, now resembling something of a rodeo cowboy as the Sin bucked about.

"Shinji!" Rei called out as she tossed her spear over him. As Eva-01 caught the spear, Eva-00 charged as the Sin and pounced from the flank. Catching the Sin by surprise, Rei succeeded in grabbing hold of the creature's maw. The added weight dragged the creature to the ground, which, unfortunately, was right on top of Eva-00. Victory would still come with difficulty as the Sin continued to struggle against the two Evas' grip. Eva-02 was able to regain control from atop, digging its feet into the ground to keep the creature pinned to the earth. Throwing more weight on its upper body, Eva-02 carefully grabbed hold of the Sin's upper jaw.

Seeing Asuka's plan clearly, Rei slowly loosened her grip around the creature's maw and moved to take hold of the lower jaw, all the while making sure its jaw kept shut. With less control of its head, the Sin was able to thrash more violently, bashings it head against Eva-00 in an attempt to force Rei to release it. There would be no faltering on Rei's part though as she and Asuka worked together to keep the Sin's head in place.

"On three!" Asuka ordered as Eva-01 moved into position with spear in hand. "One…two…three!"

On cue, Eva-00 and Eva-02 pried open its mouth and Shinji thrust the blade down its gullet, this time making sure to keep his eyes averted. The weapon found its mark, plunging deep into the center of the core. Its garbled shrieks echoed for miles and though its body convulsed wildly, the three pilots were able to keep the Sin contained and its jaw clasped shut around the spear until its body fell limp at last.

"Is it dead?" Asuka asked cautiously, refusing to let go just yet.

"Somebody go check," Rei recommended.

"It was Shinji's attack, he should go check."

"Agreed." Of course, being pinned underneath the Sin provided no possibility for Rei to check and for Asuka to check she would have to let go of the creature's jaw.

"Alright, alright…just open it slowly," Shinji sighed reluctantly. Every so carefully, Asuka and Rei pulled the jaw apart until Shinji could see just enough of the core to confirm that the spear had struck its target. "It's a hit. Target has been silenced."

There was a round of relieved sighs from everybody above and below ground. "Excellent work people, return to base immediately – we'll worry about the clean-up," Captain Yamato instructed. As Eva-02 dismounted from the creature, Eva-01 rolled it off of Eva-00 and then helped the fallen Eva back to its feet. Weary from their first sortie against the new threat, the three Evangelions drudged back to base.

---------------------

"Talk about weird…had us all by the neck and didn't even finish us off," Asuka remarked as she met with Shinji outside of the change rooms. "Whatever it's after, it must be pretty damn important to completely ignore us. I'm not sure whether to be thankful or insulted that it didn't considered us a threat." This was the first chance anybody would have to talk to Shinji alone and Asuka was thankful that she was able to get the first crack at it. She just hoped that she could say everything that wants before Rei shows up and spoils the moment.

"We won, quit complaining," Shinji replied indifferently.

Asuka frowned harshly at his half-hearted response. "Don't tell me you're still annoyed with me."

"You punched Rei!"

"Oh, of course you immediately think I'm to blame for it. Have you ever thought that maybe I'm the one that's a victim here?"

"Well then whatever you did to provoke her, I'm sure you got what you deserved." Asuka growled almost inaudibly as her friend's audacity. Clearly she still couldn't shake his bias towards Rei.

"Oh get stuffed," she scoffed. "You can be so damn obtuse, you know that? Your just angry at me cause the fact that we did the horizontal hoedown means you've pretty much screwed up any chance of you being able to do the same with her. Maybe you had forgotten but she rejected you; meaning that she doesn't want you anyways!" The conversation wasn't going quite as Asuka had been hoping but that temper of hers was starting to get out of control, as usual.

Shinji fell silent for a moment, his personal frustrations churning inside slowly like a dormant volcano. "She rejected me cause she thought I had feelings for you," Shinji sternly retorted. "And thanks to you, now Rei has evidence to confirm her false beliefs."

"Well Rei probably has a point. Maybe you don't recall all of that night but you came onto me pretty quickly after you had a few beers in you," Asuke semi-lied. There was mutual 'coming onto' that night but Asuka could easily convince Shinji that it was all him. "And maybe if you were a little more honest about your feelings we wouldn't be in this situation."

"Okay, fine! Maybe I did have a bit of an interest for you…but that ended four years ago! I consider you a good friend but let's be honest, why would I want to be interested in somebody who treats me like crap? You are the most self-centered, egotistical bitch I've ever met and nobody is ever going to love you as much you love yourself!"

Shinji's sudden outburst caught Asuka a little bit by surprise. That wasn't quite the revelation that she had been hoping for…but it was the one she had subconsciously expected from him. In the back of her mind, she knew it was a bit foolish to think he'd like somebody who was so…hostile to him. She didn't think she treated him like crap but she certainly didn't treat him anything close to the level of 'good friend'. "Huh…looks like somebody has managed to grow a backbone," Asuka said quietly and venomously, trying to mask the inner pain she was feeling at the moment. "Just be careful not to burn all your bridges Ikari." Without another word and still with much tension in the air, Asuka stormed off just as Rei arrived out of the change room. While she had overheard the last part of the argument between them, Rei had no intention on commenting about any of it – it was none of her business.

"Um…h-how are you feeling Rei?" Shinji asked nervously, hoping that his outburst hadn't given Rei a bad impression of his mannerisms. He didn't normally shout like that but sometimes…Asuka just had it coming to her.

"My head still feels a bit weird," Rei commented as she watched Asuka leave.

"Same – apparently Ibuki reconfigured the emergency defibrillator to deliver the charge to our brain instead of our heart."

"Did you…have some sort of dream as well?"

"Yeah…really strange. It felt so real," Shinji answered after a short pause. He didn't want to discuss the details of his dream since they had been rather…explicit and he didn't know if it was just isolated to him or a universal experience.

"There was something weird about my dream near the end," Rei started, a little uncertain of how to phrase it. "You were in my dream but when I realized that it wasn't real and my head began to hurt, you disappeared and some sort of…gray shadow person had taken your place. Its voice was empty and sounded like a hoarse whisper…telling me to wake up." Shinji was uncertain of how to answer at first, since he too had a similar experience at the end of his dream. The only difference was that Shinji knew that it was Nanashi that had invaded his dream in order to wake him up. "Did you have the same experience?"

"Um…n-no. It must've just been something from your subconscious," Shinji tried to avert suspicion by making it seem like an isolated incident.

"Perhaps it was just something created in my mind as I regained consciousness," Rei speculated, setting aside her curiosity with a dismissive remark. If it were just an isolated incident, then it was not something that she should concern herself with any further. Shinji, of course, knew that it was his mysterious companion lending support in his own little way…but Shinji had to keep its identity a secret, otherwise he would have a huge problem having to explain why he never told anybody for so long. In all their discussion, Shinji had completely forgotten about their interrupted conversation from earlier. Rei, on the other hand, knew she had to finish what she started and she was even more certain of her decision. "Shinji…there had been something I had wanted to tell you before we were called in."

"Oh right," Shinji recalled…a little uncertain of how to take the news.

"I'm not ready for an intimate relationship yet Shinji," Rei explained, no longer struggling for words. "When I rejected you…it was because I was uncertain of how to explain what I was feeling at the moment. I looked for the first thing that was wrong and went with it. I know now, though, that it's because I'm not ready for that kind of an emotionally connection."

"Wait…so you weren't…really adverse to the idea of…us?"

"No, I'm not. But I'm not ready for that commitment yet," Rei continued as she took a step closer to Shinji. "When I am ready though…I want it to be with you."

"Why didn't you just tell me from the start?"

"As I said…I panicked. I've never…felt this way about anybody before. You know that I'm not…natural…I was worried I was only going to hurt you in the end."

"It doesn't have to be like that. There might be risks but there are always risks in life and I'm willing to take that risk…when you're ready."

"Thank you Shinji," she whispered softly. "Thank for you understanding. I'm sorry I hurt you…and I'm sorry for inadvertently causing you to sleep with Asuka."

Shinji let out a dry chuckle, even though Rei wasn't trying to be funny with her last remark. "I'll wait till you ready," he finished. Subtly, Rei took one of Shinji's hands in her own and gave it a gentle, affectionate squeeze. He smiled warmly to her…and she blushed softly in response. Rei slowly leaned in embraced Shinji with a tender kiss…short but sweet and almost a shame to have to end so soon. It was a kiss that not only warmed both their hearts but also brought peace of mind to each of them, especially Rei.

However, down the hall Asuka had not exactly left the scene. She had stayed hidden around the corner just to keep an eye on the two, though now she regretted that decision. Watching them together was a bittersweet end to a long and wretched ordeal. As painful as it was for her…at least he would find some happiness…and in the end that would have to be her only compensation.

It still didn't stop the tears though…


	22. Chapter 21: Geist

**Chapter Twenty-One: Geist**

"I apologize for your difficulties in your previous mission. Had I more information to give I would've given it readily. You had succeeded, however, and the evil has only marginally narrowed down its goal. If it weren't for your support crew utilizing that electrical shock I would not have been able to infiltrate your minds to help wake you from the dream. It was a significant risk to my part as such use of my abilities reveals my position to my pursuers."

"What exactly are those things?"

"They are the Sins of man, granted form by a powerful force."

"A source?"

"That Crimson Apparition that has appeared to you in the past. He is an agent of the evils at work here much like how I am agent of a different power. It is through him that the other evils are able to take form. Defeating each will require great virtue in you and your friends."

Shinji knew he was dreaming again, the lack of anything aside from darkness and Nanashi standing before him were clear indicators of that. Nonetheless, Shinji welcomed an opportunity to get some answers for a change. Despite everything Nanashi has been telling him, Shinji still felt he was in the dark about what was going on and no matter how benevolent Nanashi seemed, Shinji had a hunch that it was hiding something from him. "And what about the Golden one? I take he's an agent of a third party."

"Indeed. Both parties seek the powers of the Thirteenth for their own gain…it is a power that should not be in possession by either. That is why you must start searching for the Thirteenth."

"And how do you expect me to do that?" Shinji remarked. "All you've told me is a title. I have no idea what this person looks like, where they are, or even a bloody name. Give me an idea of where I can start looking at least."

"The Thirteenth lies dormant within the body of a human within this city. I do not have a name nor an appearance…and if I did I would only aid your enemies in finding them by telling you. Your enemies have ears in many places and I could not be certain if the information would remain secure."

"You're certainly not making this easy for me…"

"This is another trial of humanity Shinji – it is not meant to be an easy task. As much as I loathe admitting it, mankind has become a game board to the powers that be and each side has recruited a mortal to search discretely. You are the mortal I have chosen to burden this task but there are two others who will stand in your way…trust nobody Shinji, especially anybody who may be willing to help you."

Shinji simply sighed under his breath – again with being left with more questions than answers. "Can I have some idea of where to search?"

"Seek out the Star of David and the answers shall come to you."

---------------------

"Shinji Ikari!" A familiar, irate shout echoed through his ears, jarring the teenager from his nap. Asuka was standing no more than two feet from him and Shinji quickly realized that he had just drifted off in the middle of his physics lecture. He could hear the muffled chuckles from his peers but he was more concerned about the very angry professor looming over him. "Are my lectures boring you Mr. Ikari?"

"No ma'am," Shinji politely answered. Asuka simply frowned and headed back down to the front of the class, leaving Shinji thankful a confrontation was averted. He wasn't quite sure why but Asuka seemed to be rather…crabby with him at the moment. Even the slightest of mistakes elicited terrifying responses from his professor, both in and out of the classroom. Asuka had been hyperirritable ever since the last mission two weeks ago. It seemed that whenever one problem went away, a new one just rose up. On the bright side, at least his relationship with Rei has been steadily improving. Though she still says she's not ready yet, the last time they discussed the subject, Rei was showing more confidence in the idea.

"I want to see you in my office after class Mr. Ikari," the professor added, her bitterness still evident in her tone.

"Yes ma'am…" He had been planning to have lunch with Rei after class. The last time that Asuka called him to her office, which was last class, she kept him there for over an hour just brow-beating him over his last assignment. Sometimes he wondered if she just took advantage of her authority to berate him even more. "Looks like lunch will have to wait…"

"I can wait," Rei, who sat next to him, replied. "She won't keep you forever."

The remaining fifteen minutes of class went by quite quickly, as they normally did when Shinji was forced to stay behind. Fate seemed to mock him by releasing the other students quickly while leaving him to suffer in the company of his hair-trigger-temper professor. There was a fair bit of a crowd outside of Asuka's office after class, however, as the looming midterms prompted a lot of inquiries from the other students. Shinji was fortunate that enough students recognized Shinji and gave him the room he needed to reach Asuka's office.

"You think by our age people would understand the concept of scheduling for appointments," Asuka remarked the moment Shinji entered the room. He was a little surprised to see that he wasn't the only guy in the room, for sitting across from his professor was her friend, Wolfgang. Judging by the pile of books sitting next to him, Wolfgang was also fresh from one of his lectures. "There's been a slight change in plans so looks like we both get spared the fate of being stuck here for the next few hours…or at least I get to be spared that fate. You, on the other hand, get a bonus assignment for sleeping in my class. I expect it on my desk in the next twenty-four hours."

It figured that Asuka would find a way to make thing even more tormenting for him…on the bright side he would have the opportunity to work on his own rather than having her hover over his shoulders.

"Sorry for having to steal away your professor but I've only got the positron matrix lab booked for the next few hours and I need a lady of Asuka's intellect to review a few things for my antimatter injection project," Wolfgang explained with a light chuckle.

"You're going to need to use smaller words Wolf, he's not a physics major," Asuka teased as she closed up her books. Since it would easily be a two-on-one, Shinji refrained from starting anything with his professor. Wolfgang could be just as condescending as Asuka…maybe even more so since he did it with such casual affect. "I won't be home for dinner so don't wait up for me."

"I'll keep that in mind," Shinji remarked in a sigh, grabbing the assignment Asuka had left for him on the desk. Just as he was picking it up though, he noticed something in the pile of books that Wolfgang had been carrying with him. Tucked away amidst textbooks about the most advanced aspects of physics was a small leather-bound book that had a small Star of David etched onto its spine. Normally Shinji wouldn't have thought it was important but such a religious symbol in the middle of some of the most heavily scientific books Shinji had ever seen, it just felt so out of place. "Hey…what book is that?" Shinji asked casually, not trying to arouse any sort of suspicion.

"That one?" Wolf replied as he pulled it out. "Not quite sure…sister asked for it so I picked it up from the library. "Damned thing isn't even in English…god knows why she wants it. I had to pull all the stops just to get it out of the library cause its so bloody old." Wolfgang shrugged his shoulders and tucked it along with the rest of his books and motioned for Asuka to tag along.

"Was that the only one in the library?"

"One of a kind I think. Why? Were you looking for it?"

"Um…yeah. I was hoping to pick it up for a research paper I'm doing."

"I'll see if Ada will be willing to part with it but she'll probably be at it for a few weeks." Wolfgang's tone hinted at some sort of avoidance to handing the book over to Shinji; he didn't strike Shinji as being a very trusting man. Shinji simply nodded and gave his thanks before the pair headed out, pushing their way through the thick crowd of students outside.

"Outta my way!" Asuka's voice echoed through the hall as she literally began pushing students aside. It seemed the years had not granted her the patience he had hoped she would acquire. Taking another look at the assignment in his hand, Shinji simply let out another sigh with the wonder of where he'd squeeze this new assignment in. At least he would still be able to keep that lunch date…

---------------------

The early evening was beginning to roll about and while most of the city was beginning to retire for the evening, the people at NERV were still busy at work. The senior staff toiled away with projects trying to divulge the secrets of their new enemies. Shinji and Rei were undergoing the usual barrage of tests as they did every week to ensure that any new changes to the Evangelions weren't having adverse effects on their performance. Dr. Washington was in his lab, studying samples of the recovered remains of the first Sin with a every scientific test he could think of…unfortunately he had always been better as an engineer than a research scientist. If only Dr. Akagi were still around…she'd likely be able to find some answers…or at least make sense of the results he was getting.

At one of the main entrances to the geofront, namely used by people such as the pilots, a lone figure walked casually over to the secured door. Wearing a long, black coat with a drawn up hood, the figure looked to the security card reader and slid a white ID card through the machine. A green light flashed as the large security door swung open, revealing the single elevator shaft that would carrying passengers down to the NERV compound.

Security had always been tight at the NERV compound but with its more limited funding, most of the security had to be contained to the chokepoints – the entrances into the NERV compound. In the elevator, only a single camera kept an eye on who sought entrance to geofront but it was only a piece of technology and, like all technology, it could be beaten. Stepping into the elevator, the figure shed its coat, revealing the feminine figure wearing a black jumpsuit and a tactical vest loaded down with equipment, and a full helmet that kept the individual's identity a secret.

She knew it wouldn't be long before security spotted her presence so she had to bypass the security systems. Ducking under the camera, she kept quiet and waited for her help to take care of the next steps. Waiting patiently, she was about to switch to her contingency plan when the light under the camera finally went out – the camera had been taken of and it was safe to use the elevator now. The wait for the elevator to descend was painfully long and the figure kept herself busy with a quick check over her equipment. Her pistol was loaded with its silencer fitted securely, a small submachine gun was slung over her shoulder as back-up, and the reassuring feel of the cold steel dagger blade kept her worries subsided.

"I'm in," she muttered quietly under her breath as the elevator doors finally swung open. It was a bit unexpected when she saw a NERV technician standing and waiting for the elevator. "Ah…guten tag," she greeted before driving her knee into the technician's gut and then knocking him out with a blow to the back of the head. Not a good start but after tossing the unconscious body into the elevator, the operative continued on her way deeper into the NERV compound. It was late so most of the personnel were either busy with work or have already clocked out for the day, making the hallways relatively empty and the only security were the cameras hat were shutting down, one by one, thanks to her 'friends in high places'.

Barely making a sound as she raced down the halls, the individual seemed to know exactly where she was going. Amazingly, she descended several floors deeper into NERV before finally running into another NERV personnel that she couldn't sneak around. A guard stood on watch outside some of the research labs. Armed only with a pistol and barely even paying much attention; he wouldn't be any threat. She carefully drew her dagger out and waited for the right opportunity to make her approach down the long and empty hall. Her racing footsteps were barely audible in the steel corridors, making her approach unnoticeable until she was already on top of the guard, holding him still with one arm wrapped around his neck while she plunged her blade into the back of his neck; it entered just at the base of the neck, missing the major arteries, severing the windpipe and spinal cord – quick, silent, and with minimal blood loss. Unfortunately for the woman, the guard was a lot large rand heavier than she had anticipated and keeping control of his fall resulted in him simply dragging her to the ground as well.

_"Well that was brilliant,"_ she thought, shove the body off of her and getting back up. She promptly checked her wristwatch to make a mental note of the time; it won't take any more than five minutes for somebody to find the body…so she had to work quickly.

Not too far away, in the main research lab, Dr. Washington and Lt. Ibuki were busy at work analyzing the remains of the first Sin. Washington was trying to keep awake with a large cup of coffee while Maya had peering into a microscope for most of the previous hour.

"If it were going to do something, it would've done it twenty minutes ago lieutenant," Washington chuckled as he checked on the machines beside him. A centrifuged sample had just been finished being separated, which Joseph promptly transferred over to one of the analyzers.

"I'm pretty sure I saw it do a little jig five minutes ago," Maya joked. Prying her eyes away from the microscope at last, the young lieutenant pushed her swivel chair over to the nearby computer. The two chuckle lightly and went back to their work. "What does the computer say about the gross composition? Is it anything like the Angels?"

"So far it seems that way – on the large scale its composition is identical to the Angels. However, until your scans are finished we won't know for certain on the microscopic scale. How much longer until that scans finished anyways?"

"Just a couple of more minutes," Maya explained with a few keystrokes. "Has there been any word on where the Sin was heading to?"

"No idea," Washington sighed lightly. "Could have been going to get a pizza for all we know. We won't know unless we let it get closer to the city, which isn't something the Captain would be very interested in."

"I know…but it's hard to fight against an enemy when you have no idea what they're after. We could wind up inadvertently helping them if we're not careful."

"I know what you mean. Unanswered questions have kept me up many a nights."

"Well I do have a theory of sorts…" Maya started cautiously. "It's kind of a silly idea but there was a lot of strange data from the last mission that it kind of makes sense of. I haven't gotten around to writing something formal cause I don't want a crackpot theory to sit on my permanent record…plus I could use a second opinion from somebody with a proper degree. I could explain it while we're waiting for the next results."

"Sounds like fun," Joseph nodded before trying to take a sip from his mug, though finding his drink gone. "But first I'm going to get more coffee if you don't mind. Want anything while I'm out?"

"I'm fine," she politely declined before her stomach rudely protested her decision. An embarrassed laugh was followed by a change in her decision, "maybe if there's still some muffins left in the lounge."

"Hopefully the tech crew hasn't taken all of the blueberry ones," Joseph chuckled on his way out. Rolling over to the next computer station, Maya returned her focus to the composition analysis scans that she had referred to moments ago. They had finished a bit faster than she had expected, though this was likely due to the degradation of the sample. Since the doctor was still out, she figured there wouldn't be any harm in taking an early look at the results.

"Okay Mr. Sin, reveal your secrets to me," she mused, opening up the results. As she had expected, the sample results were akin to the old archived samples of Angel cores, with only a few variations that can be attributed to common deviations. Maya was just about to dismiss the results with a disappointed sigh when she noticed a red flag the scan had raised to a peculiar result – human DNA strands had been detected in the sample. At first she skeptically dismissed it as simply a random anomaly until a more thorough analysis of the data showed that there was too much of it for just a random occurrence. "Now why would a Sin have human DNA embedded in it?" Maya pondered quietly. "Unless these things came from humans…but that doesn't make any sense."

Going on a hunch, Maya put the DNA sample acquired into another analyzer, which broke down the base pair sequence to get a DNA profile that it could run through the computer data banks. Maybe if she were lucky, they'd find who's DNA it was. While it was no surprise that no primary matches came up, Maya was definitely surprised when a secondary match was announced. A secondary match, while not perfect, was a profile so close that it couldn't be attributed to random chance. Maya was so focused on this finding that she didn't say hello when the lab doors slid open.

"Oh my god…" Maya gasped when she saw the profile to the person the DNA closely resembled. "Doctor you have to see this!"

However, when she turned to tell the doctor the good news, it wasn't the doctor who had strolled through the doors…it was the masked assailant. Maya simply stared dumbly at the reflection on the other woman's helmet, uncertain of whether to scream or make some sort of demand from the mystery woman. There wasn't any need for a decision, though, as the woman simply raised her pistol and put two rounds dead center into Maya's chest. It was slightly messier but at least there was only the light thump of the body. Hurrying over to the computer, the agent inserted a disc into the computer and, one by one, every shred of data the last couple week's worth of research was copied onto the disc and left only emptiness on the computer.

"Hey Maya, there wasn't any blueberry but I managed to salvage the last carrot," Joseph's voice called out as the side lab door opened up. Instead of staring in surprised silence at the intruder, the first thing Joseph did was run for it, which probably saved his life as several rounds were fired into the doorway just as he left.

"Scheiße!" The assailant cursed angrily as she turned back to the computer in order to finished her objective. Once all the data had been removed, she pocketed the disc and headed on her way out…quickly. She only just stepped out of the lab when the alarms began to sound thanks to the doctor's quick thinking. Since her presence was known, there wasn't any point in keeping quiet so she holstered her pistol and grabbed hold of her submachine gun.

Racing down the hall, she could hear the footsteps of approaching security. Unlike the NERV of old, there were quite a number of armed personnel in the facility. Turning the first corner, she heard the shouts of guards from behind, prompting her to turn about and open fire. One of the guards was struck in the leg and both were forced to take over, granting the spy enough time to run further.

Every turn revealed more guards on her tail and it wasn't long before she had more than a dozen on her tail. Only because she managed to stay one corner ahead of them was she able to stay out of their sights. Going through another set of heavy-duty doors, the agent almost ran straight into none other than Shinji.

"What the…who are you?" Shinji said, finding himself on the wrong end of a gun barrel. It only took a few moments to recognize the design of the helmet though…it was almost identical to the helmet worn by the pilot of Eva-04. Of course, since it was just a helmet and a jumpsuit, it was impossible to tell if it was even the same person. Not surprising, the assailant didn't answer Shinji's question.

The delay, though, stalled her long enough for guards to catch up. A single gunshot rang out and the bullet clipped her upper arm, causing her to drop her gun. Down the hallway, Captain Yamato was the one holding the smoking gun, flanked by several guards on either side. "Going somewhere?" he asked rhetorically.

Acting quickly, the grabbed Shinji and quickly swung him in front as a human shield. Though wounded, she pulled a grenade with her injured arm, primed it, and threw it down the hall at the guards. Shinji watched in horror as the grenade bounced down the hall, coming to a rest between the spy and the guards, though nowhere near as horrified as when he was suddenly pushed towards the grenade as well. The next thing Shinji knew, he was flying through the air with a painful ringing in his ears.

The floor came rushing up to him terribly fast and then everything went dark.

---------------------

"Uggghhh…my head…" Shinji groaned as his sense started coming back to him. He still had a splitting headache but it didn't take long to realize that he was still alive and was lying in a hospital bed…again. This time, however, he had a number of bandages wrapped around his head and every inch of his chest ached as well.

"You're finally awake," Asuka remarked as she sat next to his hospital bed. "You've been out for a while."

"What…happened?" Shinji muttered weakly.

"Before or after the air burst grenade? You got knocked around pretty badly. To make a long story short, somebody infiltrated NERV and did some damage." Her voice began to fall more sullen as she had the unfortunate business to explain the news. "Maya Ibuki is dead…along with several guards." Perhaps it was still the shock of having a massive surge of air pressure slamming into his chest like a freight train but Shinji found himself unable to react immediately to the news. It all seemed unreal…how could NERV have been infiltrated so easily? Who could've been behind this?

As Shinji pondered the questions aimlessly in his daze, the hospital door opened and Captain Yamato entered, along with an escort of guards and Misato. "Shinji…it's good to see that you're okay," Misato sighed in relief to see that he was okay. Asuka and Shinji were a little puzzled to see why they had a small compliment of guards along with them but the grim look on Yamato's face didn't spark a positive feeling.

"What's going on?" Shinji asked as he looked to the guards.

"Internal affairs I'm afraid," Yamato explained sternly, not even taking his eyes off of Asuka for a moment. Her expression began to grow more concerned when the guards approached her and motioned for her to stand. "Could you come with us Miss Soryu?"

"Wha…what's this all about?" Asuka snapped back. Yamato took a step forward, grabbing Asuka by her arm, which caused her to wince suddenly in pain. "Ow! Watch it!"

"Seems like you've got a bit of a scratch there, Miss Soryu. Now don't make me ask again."


	23. Chapter 22: Janus

**Chapter Twenty-Two: Janus**

"Captain Yamato can't be serious!" Shinji voiced his outrage to an audience who already shared the same sentiments, though were far quieter about it. "He can't honestly think Asuka had something to do with what happened!"

"Would you keep it down, I'm trying to listen," Misato immediately hushed him. Along with Misato and Shinji, Rei, Lt. Hyuga, and Captain Yamashiro were watching the interrogation through the pane of one-way glass. Inside the interrogation cell, Asuka sat indignantly on one end of the table, while Akira stood just behind her. It had been nearly four hours since Asuka had been dragged out of the hospital in handcuffs and thrown into the interrogation cell and barely a word has been spoken between the two. Shinji pleaded with everyone he could to either put an end to this ordeal or just to be able to speak with Asuka but apparently Lt. Col. Musashi gave direct orders against such actions. The only person allowed to speak with Asuka was her commanding officer who was spearheading the investigation.

"I can't believe you're actually letting this happen," Shinji bitterly replied.

"My hands are tied…" Misato sighed back, realizing that she had been a little harsh with Shinji just a moment ago. "Captain Yamato has been given executive command over this investigation. He could even order me around…though I'd kick him in the junk if he tried that. All we can do is just stand and watch."

"Do you really think she's capable of being a spy?" Hyuga remarked while readjusting his glasses. He didn't want to jump to conclusions, especially about one of their own, but he wanted answers as much as the next person. "I can't believe Maya's dead…I should've been there…"

"If you had been, I'd be needing to replace two officers…even though I doubt I'll find somebody with Maya's skills." With Yamato handling the investigation, it was up to Misato to find a replacement for Maya's post in the command center. There were several candidates in mind but Misato never imagined she'd have to replace somebody as close to her as Ibuki. This was more than just the loss of a fine officer but also a good friend. Everybody was shocked to hear that Akira had taken Asuka into custody and while they didn't want to believe that Asuka might've had something to do with the espionage, nobody except Shinji was refusing to accept the possibility. "Dr. Yamashiro…did you take a look at Asuka's injury?"

"I took a quick look but I haven't had the time to take a more thorough examination. It was, however, a recently inflicted gunshot wound," the doctor explained grimly. "When Akira allows me, I can do a more precise examination to approximate the time of injury and maybe even what used to inflict it. Who knows…maybe she did just hurt herself in a completely unrelated incident."

"Not many people just 'get shot'…and nobody can account for her whereabouts during the attack," Hyuga replied, clearly letting some of his frustrations leak through his tone. "Any idea what Captain Yamato is waiting for?"

"Some of the evidence is still being processed," Misato explained. All of Asuka's personal belongings had been confiscated, including what she was wearing. Asuka wore a spare NERV uniform for the time being and she was fairly bitter with the knowledge that she wasn't likely to get her clothes back.

Of course, right on cue the interrogation room door opened and another officer handed the captain a file folder. Though nothing much had happened up to this point, everybody watching knew that Yamato would get the interrogation started in a few minutes. "If you have anger issues, I recommend you leave – the Captain isn't very nice when he's interrogating," Yamashiro warned.

"I'm not leaving," Shinji said sternly. He didn't want to admit that was actually very worried about his friend.

The atmosphere on the other side of the glass was tense at best with Yamato pacing back and forth with the file folder in hand and Asuka sitting in silence close by. Like any good interrogation room, one light hung from the ceiling to keep the room bright and another one was shone against Asuka as an added bonus for intimidation. "I suppose we should start from the top and I should give you a chance to…convince me that you weren't involved in the infiltration and assault on NERV and its personnel. Where were you between six and eight o'clock last night?"

"I was with a friend," Asuka answered calmly, though her disdain was quite evident.

"What is this friend's name?"

"Wolfgang von Bismarck."

"What did you do with your friend?"

"We went for a hike in the hills outside the city. When I returned to my home, well after midnight might I add, I received the message about the incident at NERV and I proceeded to the hospital as soon as I could. I spoke with Shinji and then you arrested me. Now do you have any actual evidence or just that my arm hurts?"

"Well according to the doctor, you were shot in the arm. Would you care to explain how that happened?"

Asuka took a deep sigh and leaned back in her seat. "When we reached the woods, Wolfgang told me that he had brought me there because he wanted to shoot some guns…he's a big gun-nut and he knew I kinda liked it too. So…we shot at a bunch of trees for a while, okay? I know it's highly illegal but so were several of his guns. When he was preparing one of his older pieces…it accidentally went off and I got hit in the arm. I know…really stupid but shit happens."

The captain looked at Asuka with that expression that clearly indicated that he didn't believe a single word she was saying. "You're telling me that you got shot by accident while in the woods with a friend of yours?" Asuka simply nodded in response. "You must understand my skepticism in believing you Miss Soryu. After all, what are the chances that a 'German-speaking young woman with a thorough understanding of military tactics, NERV complex layout, and weapon proficiency' would infiltrate us? With all the people you killed Miss Soryu I'm curious why you left that first guy unconscious in the elevator."

"I didn't kill anybody! I wasn't anywhere near the base when this happened!"

"Then why was your access card used to access the elevator?" Yamato countered, laying a printout of the access logs on the table for Asuka to see. Time stamped only minutes before the attack was a door-access by Asuka Langley Soryu. Also, taped to the printout was a plastic evidence bag containing her access card. "The only card made was in your bag."

"I…I…there must be a mistake," Asuka stammered, unable to come up with an explanation for the captain.

"Now you own an HK USP .40 caliber pistol, am I correct?"

"Yes – I bought it after I got mugged back in Germany. Why?"

"Well I would advise against using your own pistol when trying to do an espionage mission." The next piece of paper to fall onto the table was a still image of the intruder, zoomed in on her sidearm, which was the exact same model of pistol Asuka owned.

"Anybody can own that model pistol – it's a common military weapon!"

"Yours was recovered from your room a few hours ago," Akira explained. "With clear evidence of being discharged within the past few hours."

"I had it with me when I went on my hike. I fired a few rounds at the trees also. Just ask Wolfgang – he can verify everything for me!"

The captain chuckled lightly despite Asuka's outburst with smirk that told Asuka he wasn't quite done one-upping her yet. He took out yet another piece of paper and slid it across the table for Asuka to see. "Recognize the man in the picture?"

This time around, the picture Asuka looked at was a profile photo of a spectacled middle-aged man with a scruffy bear and shallow wrinkles across his face. She was clearly surprised by it as she did recognize the man. "This is professor von Bismarck, he was a teacher of mine back when I was an undergraduate."

"And was once one of the loudest opponents to the Eva project."

"Well he was always surprisingly religious despite being such a hardcore scientist."

"Yes well this 'hardcore scientist' was the father of your friend you keep referring to."

"What's your damn point?"

"Remember that ZELLE organization? Turns out that ZELLE was originally a research corporation founded by none other than Ludwig von Bismarck. How they jumped from research to waging a war against us is still unknown but I think you can draw your conclusions from there."

"You think I'm working for ZELLE?" Asuka snapped indignantly. "Wolfgang's father was a workaholic! He barely saw him at all. He'd have nothing to do with that."

"Of course…cause children never follow their parent's interests." As always, Akira seemed in control of the flow of dialogue and simply mused on. "Didn't your mother work with GEHIRN – NERV's third branch?" The spectators to the interrogation could only watch anxiously as they knew how the captain was going to spin this. Asuka was already beginning to frown angrily at the very mention of her mother. "Terrible tragedy from what I heard. If something like that happened to somebody close to me I know I would be fairly angry with those responsible."

"Are you implying something?" Asuka growled. Her fists were beginning to clench tightly…even she was realizing where the captain was going to go.

"Dangerous experiments shouldn't be undertaken by important head scientists…but your mother was under a lot of pressure to get the project going wasn't she."

"Don't you dare bring her into this."

"Sure you're not harbouring any resentment towards NERV for what they did?"

"I wouldn't be working for NERV if I did."

"I think you're lying."

"And I think you're an ass."

"Who gave the order to attack NERV?"

"I didn't do it!" Asuka shouted as she slammed her fist against the table.

"Stop lying to me! Everything points to you Asuka so how about you stop lying to me and tell me the truth, otherwise I'll hand you over to the UN and you aren't going to like what they want to do."

The room fell silent at that instant with both occupants gazing into the other's eyes in order to gauge their honesty. Asuka was certain of her innocence and Akira was certain of her deception. "If you start giving me names of your superiors inside ZELLE, I might consider not having you locked away for life. I'd also like that information you stole off our computers – that would give you chance for parole in twenty years."

"I'm only going to say this once more 'captain'…I do not work for ZELLE, I did not steal any information, and I certainly shoot anybody either." Asuka let out a low groan of annoyance with no idea how she would get out of this situation. Refusing to speak another word, minutes ticked by without a single word being exchanged. A couple times Akira made his usual demands – who Asuka allegedly worked with, who else worked within ZELLE, and where could they find Wolfgang. Of course, Asuka couldn't tell them where the only person who could confirm her alibi since NERV apparently wanted him for their own gains and she wouldn't subject him to that.

"We're finished here," Akira finally conceded and motioned for a nearby guard to take Asuka out of the room. As she was being led out of the room in handcuffs, Shinji barged out of the adjacent room to try and at least get a word to her.

"Asuka!" Shinji called out to her. He tried to get closer but guards immediately moved in to keep them separate. Unfortunately, Asuka could stare back to her friend…unable to find words, as she feared everybody had already rendered their judgments.

"I suggest you return to your duties Mr. Ikari," Akira warned upon exiting the interrogation room. "This isn't your concern."

"She didn't do it! She wouldn't!" Shinji's shouts fell upon deaf ears though as Captain Yamato escorted Asuka down the hall with the guards. Shinji couldn't believe how quickly Akira could turn on one of their own. It didn't make any sense…Asuka couldn't be involved with ZELLE. They couldn't be losing Asuka as well…

"Shinji please…just let the captain do his job," Misato tried to console her friend but he wasn't even listening to her at this point. Alas, this meant that she would have to start finding a new pilot as well. "Go home…get some rest."

---------------------

Since the security of NERV had been compromised, Captain Yamato wanted Asuka transferred to another location for the continuation of the interrogation – more specifically someplace outside of the city. She sat in the back of a large military truck being jostled about by as the truck drove down the highway leading out of the city.

Fortunately, though, Asuka had no intention of waiting this out and hoping for the best. The so-called evidence pointed to her but she knew that none of Captain Yamato's accusations were true and while she didn't hold it against the captain, she knew that if she did nothing then she would wind up taking the heat for what happened. Ever so carefully, Asuka reached down the front of her shirt to find the tiny cell phone that she had secretly pocketed away from the guards. It was a good thing that the guards were 'kind' enough not to pat down every square inch of her body. Contacting Wolfgang was her first priority so she deftly dialed his number and prayed that he picked up.

"Answer dammit," she muttered quietly as she listened to the nearly inaudible rings. There was no answer with either his cell phone or his home number – chances were he was out at the lab again. There weren't many people that she could trust but the first person that came to mind was Kyo. Hopefully Captain Yamato wouldn't cast any suspicion on his commanding officer's son. Success was hers as he picked up after only a handful of rings.

"Kyo speaking."

"Thank god you picked up."

"Asuka?"

"I can't talk for long – I need you to find Wolfgang. You know who that is, right?"

"The tall blonde guy. What's going on? And why are you whispering?"

"I can't explain but I need you to find him quickly and when you do, tell him to contact Misato."

"Um…okay then," Kyo replied, trying to follow Asuka's request. "Any idea where I can find him?"

"He's either at university physics lab 6, or he's at his apartment – the Sato complex apartment sixty-six. Oh, and you can try getting help from his sister – she'll be at the apartment. I have to go now. I'm counting on you Kyo."

"I'll see what I can do."

Asuka knew she couldn't stay on the phone long, as the guards in the front of the truck checked regularly on her. Nestling the phone back to where she hid it, _now_ all Asuka could do was sit and wait for her friend to come through for her. "Guess I just have to sit back and relax now," she muttered to herself. It was going to be a very long drive to wherever the hell she was going so Asuka decided to lie so that she could try and get some rest. However, the moment she laid down the truck screeched to a halt and she fell off the bench.

"Ow dammit…landed right on my fucking arm," Asuka groaned as she rubbed her wounded bicep. "How about some warning next time?" The driver probably wasn't going to hear her through the inch of steel that separated the driver's compartment from the holding area, but that didn't stop her from trying of course.

"We have shots fired! We are under attack! I say again - the convoy is under attack!" The driver's slightly muffled shouts could be heard through the wall, leaving Asuka stunned at this sudden change of pace. The gunshots were growing more audible though and the loud 'pings' of the bullets impacting against the side of the truck made Asuka drop to the ground. Though the compartment was armoured, she wasn't taking any chances when the bullets started flying about. What started out as a few gunshots soon grew into a storm of indistinguishable gunfire where the sound of every bullet blurred with a dozen others, making it impossible for her to tell what was going on.

"Oh shit…" Asuka cursed as she kept her head down. Fear and confusion were beginning to set in as several explosions accompanied the gunfire, including one explosion that was close enough to shake the chassis of the truck she was in. Finally, though, the back door of the truck was swung open and a JSSDF soldier was on the other side.

"On your feet, we're getting you out of here!" The soldier shouted as he motioned for Asuka to climb out. Once outside, she saw the chaos that was going on all around her. Most of the convoy lay in burning ruins with JSSDF soldiers scattered around the wreckages as they defended themselves against enemy soldiers hiding in the surrounding forests. "The second car in the convoy is still working, I'm taking you there now!"

"Just get me the hell out of here!" Asuka agreed as the soldier prepared to escort her up the road. He would never get that opportunity though as a dagger came tumbling through the air, driving straight through the soldier's sternum with deadly precision. Asuka froze on the spot as she watched the soldier's lifeless body collapse to the ground. "Oh my god…" she muttered in horror. While combat was not unfamiliar to her, she had always been in the safety of an Eva entry plug…not standing in the middle of a highway being fired upon by Lord knows who.

There came a sudden pressure and severe pain from her gut – a burning, radiating pain that spread through her entire abdomen. Looking down to the clenched hand she placed overtop of the source of the pain, Asuka's eyes widened at the sight of blood that was oozing out of the bullet hole in her abdomen. As quickly as the pain arrived, her body started feeling heavy and before she could even mutter a whimper of pain she collapsed to the ground.

---------------------

"Why doesn't anyone ever tell me what's going on," Kyo grumbled to himself as he waited for the elevator to arrive in the lobby. Normally apartment complexes had good security but it wasn't too difficulty for Kyo to slip in along with some other tenants who weren't paying any attention to him. Remembering Asuka's words, Kyo headed on his way to the sixth floor to find Wolfgang. After having checked with the university and discovering that Wolfgang hadn't been at the lab all day, he decided to check the only other place where he had a good chance of finding the lad. Why Asuka needed him so badly was still a mystery…but Kyo couldn't turn down a reasonable request from a friend.

"This just better be important…" Since Asuka said it was so urgent, Kyo decided to put off his plans with Judy for another time, which Judy wasn't too thrilled to hear about. He had his priorities, though, and helping a friend out with something 'urgent' came before tending to his own personal relationships…he was sort of messed up in that respect.

Finding apartment number sixty-six with little difficulty, Kyo was a bit surprised to find it with the front door already lefty ajar. Most people were typically more careful but Kyo had been alerted to the fact that somebody inside the apartment was a diagnosed schizophrenic and, therefore, was not guided by the usual norms other people were. "Hello?" Kyo called out as he waited by the door for an answer that never came. "I'm looking for Wolfgang, is he in?" Again, there was no answer. "My name's Kyo – I'm a friend of Asuka's. This is sort of important so if anybody is home I'd really appreciate an answer."

After the third time of not getting a response, Kyo decided to go inside and investigate for himself. He knew he shouldn't, especially since this was illegal, but his usual curiosity and nosiness got the better of his judgment. Stepping into the front hall of the apartment, Kyo found no sign that anybody was home. There was, however, an occupant that Kyo discovered – the young Ada sitting in a chair in the middle of her bedroom. Kyo stumbled upon her solely by accident and if her door had been left closed he would've completely missed her.

"You must be the sister I've been told about," Kyo remarked as he tried to get her attention. "I'm looking for your brother – it's very important." Oddly enough, she didn't give any sign of a response or even an acknowledgement of his presence. Taking a closer look, Kyo discovered her not only sitting completely still in her seat but completely unresponsive to the outside world. "Well that's weird…" he muttered as he snapped his fingers in front of her face to try and wake her up. Had Asuka warned him about the fact that Ada was schizophrenic, he might've figured out that she was currently in a catatonic state and would likely remain that way for several hours.

"Okay, I'll find your brother myself. Don't bother getting up." Kyo gave up on trying to get an answer from the sister and went back to searching through the apartment room by room.

When he was checking the bathroom, Kyo discovered something rather unusual in the garbage bin. It was a discarded field dressing, stained red with old blood…but still relatively fresh, probably no more than a day old. Working on a hunch, Kyo returned to Ada's bedroom and immediately the bulge beneath the right sleeve of the girl's shirt, where a fresh bandage had clearly been wrapped. It was an awful lot of blood for an accidental injury…but Kyo reminded himself that he was here to find Wolfgang and that was it.

Continuing on with his search, the only room that Kyo couldn't investigate was what he figured to be Wolfgang's bedchamber. The door was securely locked by not only a lock in the doorknob but a more secure deadbolt just above – an unusual feature to have for a bedroom door. There was no use trying to get into Wolfgang's bedroom, as it was far too secure for Kyo to get through. Maybe if he had a twelve-gauge shotgun or a high-powered rifle he could get in but what good would that do him?

Failing to find any sign of Wolfgang's presence, Kyo decided that his only other option would be to leave a note and hope that Wolfgang found it before it was too late. Finding a pad of paper and pencil mounted on the refrigerator door, Kyo quickly scribbled down his message to the apartment occupants with the intention of explaining his presence in the apartment later on. If it were really important that Wolfgang contacted Misato, surely he would understand Kyo's breaking and entering.

"I just hope Asuka's okay," Kyo sighed to himself.

Unfortunately, Kyo didn't notice the figure approaching behind him. Otherwise, he might've been more prepared for the chloroform-soaked clothe that was suddenly shoved into his face while a second arm wrapped around his neck. The fumes only took a few seconds to take the fight out of the teenager and after a couple more, he slipped into unconsciousness and collapsed to the ground.


	24. Chapter 23: Finding God

**Chapter Twenty-Three: Finding God**

Misato was right…Shinji's job at NERV was to pilot the Evangelions, not run investigations. It was Captain Yamato's job to handle internal investigations…though Misato would've handled it herself had it not been for her close relationship with Asuka. Shinji ran through everything that Captain Yamato confronted Asuka with trying to come up with some reasonable explanation for it all but was having little success. The only thing that didn't make any sense was why would Asuka use her own security card to enter the geofront and then hang around inside the hospital? Brash, stubborn, and prideful she might be but an idiot she was not. There was no way that an infiltration that coordinated could have such an obvious flaw. If Shinji could've guessed that security kept a log on all entries, then Asuka would've thought of it even sooner.

When Shinji arrived home, he found it to be in quite a mess thanks to the thorough search performed by the NERV investigators. Under less stressing circumstances, Shinji would've taken the time to clean up the place but he felt motivationally drained and just walked past the scattered books and overturned mattresses. There seemed to be no sign of Kyo, which meant he was probably off doing what young couples do with Judy.

Retiring to his bedroom, Shinji immediately collapsed onto his bed and crawled beneath the sheets. Misato was right – he should just get some rest. It had been a long day after all and all his frustrations had worn him out. In a matter of seconds he had drifted asleep. Alas, Shinji wouldn't find much peace in his slumber.

The dream was strange…though most of his dreams had a tendency to be either weird or make no sense whatsoever. For his latest venture into his own subconscious, Shinji found himself sitting in his own living room. It was a pleasant change from the usual 'complete emptiness stretching in all directions' that most of his dreams were set in. His first scan of the room revealed that he was the sole occupant but a dream of sitting on his own would be far too boring to happen. Sure enough, only a few seconds passed before he felt a lithe arm wrap around his shoulder. At first, he thought his subconscious would be nice to him for a change and drop Rei into his dream but instead he saw the red-haired Asuka curling up next to him on the living room couch.

"Come on Shinji," she pleaded as though the conversation had been going on for hours. "Why do you always have to be so distant from me? I kept reaching out to you and you would always just turn away from me. Can't you see how much you mean to me?" Shinji didn't say anything, since nothing actually meant anything in his imaginary world. She didn't even appear to be bothered by his silence as she set her hand overtop of his. "I'm always the one that's by your bedside when you wake up in the hospital! I'm the one that's always standing by you. I'm the one that's always pushing you to be the best you can be! What does that Rei girl have that's so much better than me?" If it weren't for the fact that this wasn't real, Shinji would've been confused by this somewhat uncharacteristic outpouring of emotions by the Germanic child.

Her free hand brushed gently against Shinji's cheek, ushering his attention to remain upon her. If only Asuka was actually this open to her then something might've developed between them in the real world. But the real Asuka was just as closed off as Shinji could be. "More importantly…you were always the one person _I_ could turn to. I…I need you…and I think a part of you needs me as well." As Asuka tried to guide his lips towards her, he turned away. The moment he did that, the warmth from her hands disappeared. Now on his opposite side was Rei, curled close to him in essentially the same manner Asuka was just seconds ago.

"What's the matter Shinji?" Rei began softly. "Half of the time we talk your mind seems to be somewhere else. You seem so distracted."

This time around, Shinji was able to utter out a couple of words. "It's nothing…"

"You're thinking about Asuka again, aren't you?" While Rei was right, it was difficult to not think about her considering that Asuka had been sitting to his left until only a few seconds ago. "I've seen the way you two look at one another. She's…wild and unpredictable – something I could never be. She pushes you in directions you never thought possible. It's that excitement and curiosity that still draws you to her."

"That's not true Rei," Shinji tried to explain, though struggled with the words as his mind felt like it was trying to process a million things at once.

"You slept with her for a reason and it wasn't just because of me or that you were drunk. It's because a part of you loves her…just like how a part of you loves me."

"We're…we're just friends. M-maybe a time ago I did feel something for her but that ended a long time ago. Now, we're just two friends and that's all it will stay as. You're the one I care about Rei."

"Are you trying to convince me…or yourself? I trust you Shinji but you know I will always feel inadequate so long as I continue to think that you still have feelings for Asuka. I don't say this enough Shinji but you are very important to me Shinji. I…had always felt so alone before meeting you. I wanted to be with you but I could never tell you."

"You can tell me know Rei…you don't have to be afraid."

"Don't I?"

"After all, there's still me to compete with," Asuka's voice emerged once more and now Shinji was flanked by both girls. "And I'm not going to let her have you without a fight. What has she done to deserve you? She's not even real. Remember? She's just a doll; sure she looks pretty and all but in the end you might as well be doing an inflatable fuck-pillow. If she's cared about you for so long why hasn't she said anything until now?"

"Why haven't you?" Rei interrupted.

"I was in Germany if you would recall. You had over three years with him and you did nothing with it. It was only until I came along did you suddenly get possessive of him. You're like some over-protective mother who won't let their grown kid go out and do what all kids his age do."

Rei turned to address Shinji next, "You're going to have to make a choice Shinji."

"Yeah, yeah. I know. I have to put my foot down on this stupid clichéd love triangle," Shinji grumbled in annoyance. Sometimes he wondered if his life had become some stupid sitcom or teen drama. "Of course I'm just arguing with my own subconscious."

"How certain are you of that?" Asuka suddenly commented as the two girls pulled away from him. "You've had conversations in your dreams before with people aside from yourself. But even then when can you be certain of even that? Every message from those three leaves you torn in different directions. You never know what to believe."

"All you do know," Rei continued along, "is that what they say is usually true to some degree. The red one worries you the most of course. He's the one that said suffering would be yours if you came to Tokyo-3. You're left wondering whether what he said was true or just a statement so vague it wouldn't matter."

There definitely was no denying that statement. Confusion seemed to infect every thought train of his when he contemplated what the three apparitions said to him. Shinji tried to avoid confusion by simply ignoring what the second and third apparition said and simply sticking to the guidance given to him by Nanashi. The red one Rei referred to, however, would always cause him worry…especially considering what happened at NERV just a short while ago.

"One of us is going to die Shinji," Asuka said to snap Shinji out of his train of thought. "One of us is going to die and it's going to be your fault."

---------------------

Shinji awoke from his rather unusual dream, though considering the nature of most of his dreams this was actually closer to the norm for him. It took a few minutes for him to remember that he was actually lying in his bed and wasn't in some strange room with Rei and Asuka. Glancing to his alarm clock, he saw that several hours already passed and it was closer to the evening now. There was no interest in getting up, though, as he merely rolled to his opposite side and tried to settle his troubled mind. However, instead of finding peace he noticed that something was terribly out of place with what he was looking at.

Upon his desk sat a small red, leather-bound book – the same one that Shinji saw Wolfgang carrying the previous day. Alongside it was a very small folded-up note with his name written on the front in handwriting he immediately recognized as Asuka's. He realized now that Asuka must've found some way to convince Wolfgang or Ada to part with that book and the note likely contained a friendly reminder that he owed Asuka a big one. In a strange way, Shinji wished he could have her rubbing it into his face right about now. Alas, the condominium was dead silent. With a heavy sigh, Shinji opened up the note to see what Asuka had to say.

_"I noticed you were unusually interested in that book Wolfgang had with him. I did a little check and you don't have any assignments where you'd need such a religious text. So I thought to myself, why would Shinji need this? Must be something important for you to lie so blatantly. I decided to borrow it from Wolfgang so I can find out what's so darn important about this book. Just be sure to finish what you need soon cause he'll figure out where it went soon. By the way, you owe me for this and I expect more than just an explanation."_

"How silly of me to think she'd ask politely for it," Shinji muttered lightly as he crumpled the paper up and tossed it into the garbage. Wolfgang would probably be able to put two and two together in a few hours after noticing the book's disappearance. Well, since the book was here Shinji might as well take a look at it.

Opening the book, Wolfgang's complaint about language problems was obvious. It was in neither English nor Japanese; in fact, he couldn't recognize it at all. It didn't use any alphabet that he was familiar with either. However, considering the age of the book and the religious symbol on the binding, it was a reasonable to guess that the text might be in old Hebrew. Now he just hoped that the Jewish girl that lived not too far away would be able to translate it for him. No sooner had the thought 'I hope Judy is home' passed through his mind did a knock come from his front door. It wasn't a gentle knock either – it was the quick, continuous knocking of an anxious individual who wanted to be let in. No surprise, it was none other that Judy. But why would she be here?

"Hey Judy," Shinji greeted upon opening the door. "I'm afraid Kyo isn't here though."

"That's actually why I'm here," Judy promptly answered, a slight hint of concern in her voice. "Kyo called a while ago and said that he had to postpone our date because something important came up. I didn't ask any questions of course cause he said he'd meet me in a few hours instead. Well, when Kyo never showed up I started to worry. Oh…um, may I come in?"

"Oh, right. Come on in," Shinji embarrassingly remembered and stepped aside for the young lady to enter. She was visibly anxious as clearly noted by how repeatedly she tapped her fingertips against her leg.

"As I was saying, Kyo's never been late before and I don't know what could've come up that made him postpone our date," Judy continued, her tone shifting from concern and nervousness to anxious rambling. "At first I thought it was just something he had to do with you but we're here and he's not. I had already checked with the university and they said he wasn't there either. I have no idea where he is and I can't reach him on his cell phone and…you don't think he's found another girl do you?"

"What? Another girl? Please," Shinji dismissed the possibility quickly in hopes it would calm the girl down. "Kyo was never that great with girls so he wouldn't risk screwing up one of the first solid relationships he's had by going out with another girl. Besides, he thinks the world of you."

"Are you certain? I think I might be smothering him. You know how I'm always over and stuff."

"Half the time you bring him food. Kyo is not hard to keep happy and you're doing more than enough," Shinji reassured her once more, giving her a gentle pat on the shoulder. "I'm not sure what it is but whatever the reason, I'm sure Kyo isn't gone without good reason. He's usually pretty punctual but when he gets distracted he has been known to forget about pretty much everything around him."

Judy didn't like the sound of that last part and grew a little more restless as a result. "M-maybe something bad has happened to him."

Shinji really didn't really know what he could do to settle the poor girl's restless worries. Between Asuka and Rei, anxiousness and worry were not emotions he had dealt with very often. Judy paced around the living room a few times before finally settling on the couch. Even then, her fingers continually rapped against the cushions and her breathing was somewhat shallow and erratic.

"Um…can I get you anything?" Shinji offered since he couldn't think of anything else.

"I don't suppose you have some tea and scones on hand?" Judy replied in jest. "I will be fine. I just needed somebody to talk to and Misato has been gone all day. If I could, I would like your company for a little while…you look as though you could use it as much as I."

Shinji couldn't argue with that last part. With Rei absent, Asuka locked away, and Kyo missing, there wasn't much of anyone to keep him company. In his own idleness, he tapped his fingers and realized that he was still holding that red book in his hand. Figuring it might give Judy something else to focus her attention on, Shinji took next to Judy and set the book down on the coffee table.

"What's that?" Judy asked once she noticed it.

"You wouldn't happen to be able to be able to read Hebrew would you?"

"I hope you don't think that just cause I'm Jewish automatically I can read Hebrew," Judy laughed lightly with a smirk. "But it just so happens that I can, so count yourself lucky." Grabbing the book off the table, Judy opened it up and took a quick skim over the first few pages. Now Shinji hadn't been certain if he was correct in his assumption but since Judy wasn't shutting the book right away, he was might right.

"So um…can you translate it for me? It's sort of important."

"Mostly reads like Torah," Judy commented with a casual shrug. "Genesis, Exodus, and all the rest. I don't exactly know what's so important about all this stuff." She continued flipping through the pages, quickly reading over every page in a very methodical fashion. As she neared the end of the book though something in it caused her to cock an eyebrow and pause for short while. "Okay this is odd. This isn't like any passage I've read before."

Now Shinji's curiosity was piqued. Since he couldn't do anything to hasten the process, he did his best to wait patiently for Judy to read over the passage aloud for Shinji. "It says…'when God created Man, He gave him a paradise to rule over. But when Man rejected God and ate the fruit of the Forbidden Tree, he was punished and thrown out of his paradise. In doing so, Man gained not only knowledge and wisdom but also freedom and control over their own destiny. From then on, Man would no be forced to dictate their own future without direction and guidance. Lost like a child in the mountains, Man would stumble as he tried to walk and crawl. Much suffering would fall unto Man but he walked with the promise if he ever managed to stand and walk, paradise would be returned to him. Man would first found God through His son and in their fear, they rejected him. In doing so, they were able to find salvation in the afterlife. When Man found God the second time, they thought that paradise would be theirs once more. With this hope, they tried to possess God and God punished them for it. In doing so, they discovered the seeds of God within each soul and planted the seeds of a new Man. The third time Man found God through his messengers but in their rage, Man destroyed God's will. In doing so, Man destroyed their chance for finding paradise.' What a very strange passage…"

"Rather cryptic," Shinji lied. It made plenty sense to him so far. "Is there anything else?"

"Just a bit more. 'When Man found God the fourth time, it was through the evils in their souls. The seed of God had been planted once more and Man would seek to possess it. In doing so, Man punished himself to conquer their sins and through this act of sacrifice, his paradise would be found at last…and Man would no longer need to find God.' Now why do you suppose such an unusual passage would be in the Torah? It's certainly not like any one I've ever read…which would be a grand total of one aside from this."

"I honestly don't know," Shinji sighed lightly. The first three incidences were events that had already happened but the last one didn't fit anything he had recalled. Was this that 'fourth encounter' mentioned in that bizarre passage? How would this help him find the Thirteenth? "Is there any more?"

"Let me check. There's probably a bit more," Judy answered Shinji's inquiry as she flipped a few pages ahead. "There's some but it doesn't seem to fit in any context around it. It says, 'One the fisherman; two the Baptist follower; three and four the brothers; five the Greek tongue; six the knife-wielder; seven the twin; eight the just; nine the Evangelist; ten the Zealot; eleven the betrayer; twelve the lost cause; and thirteen the son of Man.' Okay now that just makes even less sense than before." With all the confusion created by translating this text, Judy simply tossed the book back onto the table and collapsed back into her seat.

"Well thanks for your help anyways. I guess some things just aren't meant to make any sense," Shinji said as he leaned back on the couch as well. Judy might've been a bit confused but Shinji was pushing his brain to the limit trying to make sense of it all. After it felt like his brain would collapse in on itself if he continued, he gave up trying to make sense of it and decided that he would be better off turning to somebody who had more knowledge of these things. Maybe somebody at NERV would be able to be of some assistance to his little mission.

The son of Man…how does that help him?

---------------------

"Ughhhh…where am I?" Asuka groaned painfully as her senses finally began to return to her. Her body felt like a lead weight, including her eyelids, and even breathing seemed to send dull pulses of pain radiating through her gut. If her memory served her correctly…she had been shot down there so the pain made sense. On the bright side, if there was any, at least it meant that she was still alive. She tried to pry her eyes open but to little avail; she simply felt too tired to make a move. Plus, though it took her a moment to realize it, she had been blindfolded so opening her eyes wouldn't have been of much help anyways. Taking a moment to get a feel for her predicament, the few things she could deduce was that she was strapped down to a bed of sorts and she was probably not in any hospital. It did not have that chemical, anti-septic smell that every hospital Asuka had been in possessed.

"Your guess is as good as mine," a familiar voice muttered in response. At first Asuka thought she was hallucinating or something as there was no chance it could've been Kyo's voice answering her.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Asuka asked weakly. Breathing was hard enough for her so talking was even worse. As such, she needed to keep her sentences brief.

"Beats me. I was doing exactly as you asked and then somebody jumped me. Next thing I know, I wake up here…wherever here is. I don't suppose you could see anything. I'm sort of blindfolded here."

"Likewise. Did you find anything?"

"Only that your friend's sister really should consider changing medication…and that he might be involved with whatever is going on. Speaking of which, what the fuck is going on?" Needless to say, Kyo sounded a little irritable but anybody being held against his will would be. Judging by the clunking noises that accompanied Kyo's grunts he was probably tied down to a chair rather than bed like Asuka. If they were being held captive then there were probably in some remote building or outpost and kept under lock and guard in a very small room. She wondered if NERV knew she was missing yet.

"Group called ZELLE…opposing NERV. Operative infiltrated NERV…and killed a number of people," Asuka began, having to take pauses intermittently to ease the pain. "I've been framed for it…and now we're both stuck here. I think…Wolfgang might be behind it."

"Gee…you could've warned me you were sending me to find somebody you suspected of espionage!"

"I thought he was somebody who could prove my innocence," Asuka sneered bitterly in response. "Now I realize he probably framed me from the start. Probably…grabbed my ID when I wasn't looking and…kept me out of public places…even shot me when he needed to make me look guilty."

"Well now that we've proven your hindsight is good, let's think about what we can do now."

"We're bound…I'm hurt…and you're inept. Not a lot of options available."

"With optimism like that, I can't believe humanity's fate is entrusted to the likes of you." With a sigh of annoyance, Kyo had little choice but to simply sit back and wait for the inevitable. What their captors had in store for them was unknown but Asuka knew they wouldn't have gone through all the effort of keeping her alive if she wasn't important. If anything, this little act probably made Asuka look even guiltier than before. Captain Yamato would probably want her shot on sight at this point.

"I'll be more confident if I had a Evas at my back."

It was a lot easier for Asuka to be confident when she was piloting her Eva, or at the very least not strapped to a bed with a gunshot wound. What they needed now was a soldier rather than a pilot. Asuka knew basic hand-to-hand and how to operate a firearm but she was not the spy and gunfighter that Yamato accused her of being. She was still just a kid after all. Likewise after numerous attempts, Kyo realized there was little he could do either. In the end, waiting was their only option.

"Are you scared Asuka?"

"Maybe. You?"

"Perhaps just a little."

Neither was going to admit that they were actually almost terrified right now. Unknown to them, the pair were being watched by none other than Wolfgang von Bismarck through a pane of one-way glass. Video cameras and microphones recorded every moment within the chamber but he had watched and listened in on their conversations from the start. He doubted that either would be stupid enough to reveal classified information openly but nonetheless he continued to listen in order to learn more about the two teens. A cold, isolated vigilance had overtaken him and though he held a cup of coffee in one hand, it had long since gone cold. Behind Wolfgang, the door leading to the observation room slowly opened and another man stepped into the room.

"NERV forces and recovery crews have arrived at the ambush site sir," the young man informed Wolfgang. It was the first thing in more than an hour that had managed to pull Wolfgang's attention away from the glass.

"How long do we have?" Wolfgang asked quietly.

"Our most conservative guess puts the estimate of about two hours before their forces are able to track their location to here," the accomplice explained grimly. "With NERV watching the coastlines, we will not be able to retreat to the main base. Our only choice will be to retreat into the city but it is unlikely we can succeed in that with the prisoners." Every road in and out of the city would likely be under watch by now. It would be impossible for anyone to sneak two prisoners past the checkpoints.

"Then we'll simply leave the prisoners here for NERV to find and we'll make sure to get what we need before then," Wolfgang calmly explained.

"Sir…there's no way we'll finish in that time."

"We'll skip the small stuff. Go and charge the generator and bring it in," Wolfgang instructed. With a quick nod, the other man departed to carry out the orders. Wolfgang had proceeded with the operation with the full knowledge that NERV would be hot on their heels the moment Asuka changed hands. He did not need Asuka in his possession for very long; he simply needed some more time. Time, though, was something he could easily get more of.

A red glow slowly appeared behind and to the side of Wolfgang in the exact same sport that his accomplice had stood just a few moments ago. Standing behind Wolfgang was the Crimson apparition that had visited Shinji so many times before. It simply gazed to the two imprisoned teens before turning back to Wolfgang. "You have the looks of a man who needs a favor."

Wolfgang merely peered over his shoulder to the source of the light and said, "I would be grateful if NERV ran into some more pressing issues."

"I just so happened to be heading out on business. Consider the time yours – just find me what I need."

Just as quickly as the apparition appeared, it faded away, leaving Wolfgang alone in the observation room once more…except now accompanied by a promising smirk.


End file.
